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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 
LOS  ANGELES 


MUSIC 

uiRARr 


CELEBRATED   MUSICIANS 


lii 

NICOLO  PAGANINI    i 


A  BIOGRAPHY 


BY 


J.  G.   PROD'HOMME 

Translated  from  the  original 
French    Edition 


by 


ALICE   MATTU 


J>-^R1CE  $1.00 


Music 
Library 

vn  u 


Copyright  iqh  by  Cari-  Fischer,  New  York. 
International  Copyright  secured. 


VI. 


CONTENTS 

Paganini's    youth    and    early    travels    in    Italy 

(1784-1828)  5 

The  Man  and  the    Artist |7 

Travels  abroad.     (1)  Austria,  Poland,  Germany 

(1828-1830) 30 

Travels  abroad.    (II)  Paris,  London,  etc.  (1831- 

1834) 43 

Return  to  Italy ;  last  stay  in  France  ;  death  of 
Paganini  ( 1 834- 1 840) ;  his  posthumous  ad- 
ventures (1840-1896) 56 

Paganini  as  a  composer 71 

His  works 76 

Books  of  reference 78 


TABLE   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

Nicolo    Paganini   (Engraved    by    Calmatta,    from    a 

drawing  by  Ingres,  1818) 7 

House  at  Genoa  where  Paganini  w^ais  born  ....     13 

Nicolo  Paganini    (Portrait  by  Isola  in  the  Municipal 

Gallery  at   Genoa) 21 

Paganini  encored  at  the  close  of  a  concert  (A  Paganini 

recital  in  1804,  from  the  painting  by  Gatti)     27 

Caricature   of    Paganini   (Lithograph    by    Mantoux)     31 

Caricature    of    Paganini  (Lithograph    by   Granville, 

from   the    terra   cotta   figure    by  Dantan)     31 

Cast  of  Paganini's  hand  (Instrumental  collection  of 

the  Conservatoire) 4! 

Paganini  in  prison  (Lithograph  by  Louis  Boulanger, 

1832) 45 

Paganini's  violin  (Municipal  Museum  at  Genoa)  .    .     51 

Paganini   Casino   at   Paris,   Chausee  d'Antin   (1837) 

(Lithograph  by  G.  Laviron) 55 

Letter  from  Paganini  to  Berlioz  (Furnished  by  Mon- 
sieur   Charles    Malherbe) 60 

Musical  Autograph  by  Paganini  (Extract  from  Le 
Streghe)  (violin  part)  (Furnished  by 
Monsieur  Charles  Malherbe) 65 

Paganini  Playing  on  his  Stradivarius  (From  a  water 
color  by  Peterlct  called  "The  Violin  of 
Cremona"  (A.  Morel  d'Arleux  collection)     69 


.'57'95B<S 


I. 

I  HERE  are  certain  names  in  history  which  attain  universal 
popularity  and  have  the  rare  distinction  of  symbolizing  a 
particular  art  or  an  entire  epoch.  Even  the  ignorant 
know  them  and  use  them  to  express  a  definite  train  of 
thought.  What  name  more  popular  than  Raphael's?  Does  it  not 
typify  perfection  in  the  art  of  painting?  Mozart's  name  in  music 
has  an  equal  standing.  As  to  the  name  of  Paganini — more  even 
than  that  of  Liszt,  whose  fame  as  a  virtuoso  for  so  long  over- 
shadowed that  of  the  composer, — it  has  become  almost  mythical. 
"To  play  like  Paganini,"  like  this  Paganini  whose  memory  lives  for- 
ever, is  to  the  masses  the  highest  praise  which  can  be  bestowed  upon 
an  executant  musician. 

It  is  difificult  to  determine  just  when  this  widespread  fame 
originated,  especially  in  the  absence  of  authentic  documents ;  how- 
ever, it  can  be  positively  stated  that  up  to  1828  Paganini's  glory 
was  entirely  of  Italian  making,  his  first  foreign  appearance,  at 
Vienna,  being  the  flash  which  lit  the  fire  of  enthusiasm  in  all  Europe. 
Furthermore,  it  is  difiicult  to  retrace  in  detail  the  first  thirty  years 
of  the  artist's  eventful  life,  which,  even  before  he  left  his  native 
country,  had  been  embellished  by  anecdotes  of  more  or  less 
authenticity. 

SIC  SfC  !fC  SfC  3fS  ^ 

Born  at  Genoa,  February  i8th,  1784,  Nicolo  Paganini  was  the 
.son  of  Antonio  Paganini  and  Teresa  Bocciardi,  "both  amateur  mu- 
sicians," as  he  states  in  a  brief  autobiography ;  "when  I  was  five  and 
a  half  years  of  age,  I  was  taught  to  ])lay  the  mandolin  by  my 
father,  a  broker.  ( ^ ) 

"About  this  time  the  Saviour  appeared  to  my  mother  in  a  dream 
and  told  her  that  a  prayer  should  be  fulfilled  to  her;  she  requested 
that  her  son  should  become  a  great  violinist  and  this  was  granted 
her.  W  lull  I  attained  my  seventh  year,  my  father,  whose  ear  was 
unmusical,  but  who  was  nevertheless  passionately  fond  of  music, 
gave  me  my  elementary  lessons  on  the  violin ;  in  a  very  few  months 
I  was  able  to  play  all  manner  of  coinpositions  at  sight." 


(1)  F^tia  says  he  wa.««  a  Innp.Hlioreman,  hut  thl.s  is  exagg-crated  (Revue 
Mu.sicale,  Feb.  iri,  18.30,  p.  33).  Arrording  Ut  Ksc-udler  he  was  a  small  shipping 
agent. 


NICOLO   PAGANINI 


Nicole's  first  teachers  were  Giovanni  Servetto,  a  man  of  little 
merit,  says  Fetis,  with  whom  he  did  not  remain  long,  and  afterward 
Giacomo  Costa,  Musical  Director  and  first  violin  of  some  of  the 
prominent  churches  at  Genoa,  from  whom  he  took  thirty  lessons  in 
six  months.  At  the  early  age  of  eight  Paganini  composed  a  violin 
sonata,  and  at  eight  and  a-half  years  of  age  he  played  a  concerto 
by  Pleyel  in  a  church.  From  that  time  on  until  he  was  eleven  years 
old,  he  had  regular  engagements  to  perform  works  of  this  kind  at 
religious  ceremonies.  Paganini  looked  upon  this  as  of  much 
moment,  since  the  church  services  forced  him  to  constant  practice 
on  his  instrument.  He  also  mentions  with  grateful  recognition  one 
of  his  countrymen,  Francesco  Gnecco — according  to  Conestabile,  a 
writer  of  popular  drama,  who  strongly  influenced  his  musical 
development. 

When  young  Nicolo  was  about  eleven  and  a-half  years  old — or 
perhaps  two  years  earlier — he  gave  his  first  concert  at  the  San 
Agostino  Theatre,  assisted  by  the  singer,  Teresa  Bertinotti,  and  the 
male  soprano,  Marchesi.  As  for  him,  he  played  to  his  townspeople 
among  other  things,  variations  on  the  Carmagnole,  which  was  very 
popular  in  Genoa  at  that  time,  and  his  success  was  enormous.  The 
Marquis  Di  Negro  (at  whose  house  Kreutzer  heard  him  about  1795.) 
became  much  interested  in  the  youthful  virtuoso,  and  it  was  prob- 
ably at  his  instigation  that  Antonio  Paganini  began  "a  search  for 
good  masters."  In  1796  he  took  his  son  to  Parma,  bearing  letters 
of  recommendation  to  Court  officials,  to  Rolla  and  the  famous  Paer. 
At  Florence  he  was  presented  to  Salvator  Tinti,  who  was  astonished 
on  hearing  him  play  the  variations  on  the  Carmagnole.  At  Parma, 
he  tells  us  "I  found  in  Rolla's  room  a  new  concerto  composed  by 
him,  which  I  played  at  sight;  Rolla  was  much  astonished  and  in- 
stead of  giving  me  instruction  on  the  violin,  advised  me  to  study 
counterpoint  under  Maestro  Ghiretti,  a  Neapolitan  court-musician 
and  noted  composer,  who  had  also  been  Paer's  teacher."  Thus 
states  Paganini,  but  it  appears,  according  to  Gervasoni,  that  the 
young  artist  actually  took  lessons  from  Alessandro  Rolla  during 
several  months. 

As  to  Paer,  who  in  1792  to  1797  spent  a  part  of  each  year  at 
Parma,  he  gave  him  "three  lessons  a  week  during  six  months." 
Paganini,  under  his  direction,  composed  twenty-four  figures  for  four 
hands,  and  his  teacher  was  highly  pleased  with  a  duet  which  he  had 
^iven  him  to  set  to  music.     "Ghiretti,"  says  Paganini.  "who  had 


A  BIOGRAPHY 


taken  a  fancy  to  me,  overwhelmed  me  with  favors  and  lessons  in 
composition,  and  under  his  guidance  I  composed  a  great  deal  of 
instrumental  music.  About  this  time  I  played  two  violin  con- 
certos at  a  concert  in  the  leading  theatre,  after  having  played  at  the 
country  seat  of  the  sovereigns,  at  Colorno,  and  at  Sala,  on  which 
occasion  I  was  most  generously  compensated.  The  owner  of  a 
Guarnerius  violin  said  to  me:  'If  you  can  read  this  violin  concerto 
at  sight,  I  will  give  you  this  instrument,'  and  I  won  it."  After  this 
first  tour,  during  which  young  Paganini  gave  twelve  concerts,  at 
Parma,  Milan,  Bologna,  Florence,  Pisa  and  Leghorn,  he  returned 
to  Genoa, — probably  during  the  winter  of  1797-1798;  there  he  com- 
posed his  first  etudes,  certain  technical  difficulties  of  which  he  is  said 
to  have  practiced  for  up  to  ten  hours  a  day.  When  he  had  mastered 
them,  he  wrote  other  concertos  and  some  variations,  according  to 
his  account.  His  father  presumably  forced  him  to  rigorous  applica- 
tion to  his  studies,  locking  him  up  for  entire  days  and  guarding  him 
closely.  Thus  he  spent  the  time  during  the  memorable  siege  of 
Genoa.  However,  this  severity  awakened  the  desire  in  the  youth 
to  escape  the  parental  surveillance.  With  his  extraordinary  mas- 
tery of  his  instrument  and  having  studied  the  works  of  all  the  great 
masters,  Corelli,  Vivaldi,  Tartini,  Pugnani  and  Viotti,  he  did  not 
lack  resources  for  making  his  living.  "At  twenty-seven  years  of 
age,"  continues  the  autobiography,  "he  made  a  tour  of  northern 
Italy;  and  it  was  at  this  time  that  he  left  his  home  and  came  to  the 
town  of  Lucca.  Here  he  met  with  great  success  at  a  festival  which 
took  place  in  Nov.,  1800,  on  St.  Martin's  day.  Later  he  won  much 
favor  in  several  Tuscan  towns — especially  at  Pisa,  and  remained 
some  time  at  Leghorn  "to  write  some  compositions  for  bassoon,  for 
the  use  of  a  .Swedish  amateur  who  complained  that  he  could  find 
nothing  sufficiently  difficult."  The  Scandinavian  amateur  expressed 
himself  more  than  delighted  with  the  young  maestro's  work. 

The  latter,  intoxicated  by  the  triumphs  with  which  he  met 
everywhere  upon  his  way,  led  anything  but  an  exemplary  life.  No 
longer  uuflcr  the  paternal  eye,  his  leisure  hours  were  sjjcnt  with 
gambling  and  women,  and  one  fine  day,  having  lost  everything  he 
possessed  at  the  gaming  table,  including  his  instrument,  an  amateur 
— whr)se  name  he  has  recorded — a  Monsieur  Livron, — loaned  him 
a  magnificent  Guarnerius  for  his  next  api)carancc  in  |)iib!ic.  After 
the  concert  the  enthusiastic  amateur  gave  the  violin  to  Paganini  as 
a  gift.    This  instrument  was  left  by  Paganini  to  his  native  city,  and 


8 


NICOLO   PAGANINI 


the  Guarnerius  is  to  this  day  kept  at  the  Municipal  Palace,  at 
Genoa.  (^) 

After  this  period — the  exact  duration  of  which  is  not  known, 
but  which  was  doubtless  quite  lengthy,  Paganini  informs  us  that 
"four  years  before  the  coronation  of  Napoleon,  at  Milan" — there- 
fore in  1801,  he  went  to  Lucca  for  the  festival  of  St.  Croix  (Sep- 
tember 14th).  "Everybody  stared  at  me  and  made  fun  of  my  long 
bow  and  heavy  strings  (he  used  'cello  strings  on  his  violin)  but  after 
the  rehearsal,  I  was  so  wildly  applauded  that  the  other  candidates 
did  not  venture  to  be  heard.  At  a  grand  evening  service  in  a 
church,  my  concerto  created  such  a  furor  that  the  worshippers 
rushed  out  to  keep  the  crowd  outside  the  church  quiet." 

At  this  point  all  the  biographies  of  the  artist  show  a  lapse  of 
three  or  four  years  which  it  is  impossible  to  reconcile.  Where  was 
he  between  the  months  of  September  and  October,  1801,  and  the 
year  1805, — the  date  of  another  sojourn  at  Genoa?  The  autobiog- 
raphy briefly  states  that  its  author  "devoted  himself  to  agriculture 
and  took  to  playing  the  guitar."  We  can  merely  add  that  from  time 
to  time  he  lived  at  the  chateau  of  a  great  lady  who  played  this 
instrument.  Several  compositions,  his  Opus  2  and  3,  comprising 
six  sonatas  for  violin  and  guitar,  date  from  this  period.  Returning 
to  Genoa,  he  once  more  took  up  his  violin  studies  with  much  zeal, 
especially  Locatelli's  "Arte  di  nuova  modulazione"  and  composed 
six  quartets  for  violin,  viola,  guitar  and  'cello.  Opus  4  and  5, — as 
well  as  some  brilliant  variations — all  with  guitar  accompaniment. 

Following  his  trip  to  Lucca  in  i8oi(^)  came  his  appointment  in 
1805  at  the  court  of  Lucca,  where  Felix  Bacciochi  and  Eliza  Bona- 
parte ruled  since  May,  and  Paganini  continues :  "The  Republic  of 
Lucca  made  me  first  court  violinist  and  I  remained  there  three 
years,  giving  instruction  to  Bacciochi.  My  duties  required  me  to 
play  in  two  concerts  each  week,  and  I  always  improvised,  with  piano 
accompaniment.  I  wrote  these  accompaniments  in  advance  and 
worked  out  my  theme  in  the  course  of  the  improvisation.  One  day 
at  noon,  the  court  requested  a  concerto  for  violin  and  English-horn 
that  evening ;  the  Musical  Director  refused  on  the  ground  that  there 


(1)  To  quote  the  autobiography — "In  my  concert  announcements,  I  always 
volunteered  to  execute  any  piece  of  music  which  might  be  presented  to  me. 
One  day  at  Leghorn,  wishing  to  pass  time  and  having  no  violin,  I  was  loaned 
one  by  a  M.  Livron,  to  play  one  of  Viotti's  concertos;  and  afterward  he  made 
me  a  present  of  the  instrument. " 

(2)  Niggli  gives  the  time  as  1805  and  this  seems  more  probable. 


A  BIOGRAPHY 


was  not  sufficient  time,  whereupon  I  was  asked  to  write  it.  In  two 
hours  I  had  composed  an  orchestral  accompaniment,  and  that  even- 
ing I  performed  it  with  Professor  CalH,  making  a  great  hit. 

"Looking  for  variety  in  the  programs  I  executed  at  court,  one 
evening — after  having  removed  two  strings  from  my  violin  (the 
2d  and  3d),  I  improvised  a  sonata  entitled  'Scena  amorosa,'  the  4th 
string  representing  the  man  (Adonis)  and  the  treble  string  the 
woman  (Venus).  This  was  the  beginning  of  my  habit  of  playing 
on  one  string,  as  this  sonata  was  much  admired,  and  I  was  asked  if 
I  could  play  on  a  single  string.  I  replied :  'Certainly,'  and  forthwith 
wrote  a  sonata  with  variations,  which  was  performed  in  a  grand 
concert  on  Saint  Napoleon's  day  (Aug.  I5thj.  Subsequently  I 
wrote  several  sonatas  in  the  same  style. (i) 

"The  Princess  Eliza,  who  sometimes  had  fainting  spells  when 
listening  to  me,  often  retired  so  as  not  to  deprive  the  others  of  the 
pleasure  of  hearing  me  play.  I  also  conducted  an  entire  opera  at 
Lucca,  with  a  violin  mounted  with  two  strings,  and  this  won  a  wager 
involving  a  luncheon  for  twenty-five  people.  Though  still  attached 
to  the  court,  I  travelled  in  Tuscany ;  during  a  concert  given  at  Leg- 
horn, a  nail  pierced  my  heel  so  that  I  came  on  the  stage  limping 
Slaughter  in  the  audience)  ;  the  moment  I  began  to  play  the  lights 
on  my  music-stand  fell  down  (more  laughter)  ;  at  the  very  be- 
ginning of  the  concerto  the  treble  string  snapped,  and  amid  the 
laughter  of  the  audience  I  went  on  playing  my  concerto  on  three 
strings,  and  my  success  was  enormous."  Conestabile  puts  this  in- 
cident down  as  happening  in  1806  at  tlie  time  of  the  second  concert 
given  in  that  town,  where  Paganini  had  gone  with  letters  of  intro- 
duction to  the  British  Consul.^-' 

When  Princess  Eliza  became  Grand  Duchess  of  Tuscany,  in 
1809,  Paganini  followed  her  to  Florence,  where  he  became  an 
object  of  fanatical  admiration.  "His  talent,"  says  l-'etis,  "showed 
new  develnpment  every  clay";  however,  he  had  not  yet  learned  to 
control  it  perfectly.  In  1810  he  performed  for  the  first  time  at  a 
court  concert  his  variations  for  the  4th  string,  having  extended  its 
range  to  three  octaves,  bv  means  of  barmonics.     Tlii^  novelty  met 


(1)  PnKiinini  rtporl.s  thf.'if  incident.s  in  a  letter  pulili.slud  by  tho  Mu.sical 
Gazette  of  Milan,  Oct.  18th,  ]X4fi.  The  .scene  of  Venus  and  AdonLs  i.s  dedicated 
to  a  lady  of  the  court,  of  whom  he  waH  enamored. 

(2)  Shortly  afterward  he  appeared  at  Turin,  before  Pauline  Borghese. 


10  NICOLO   PAGANINI 


with  enormous  success,  especially  when  he  played  it  publicly  at  a 
concert  which  he  gave  at  Parma  on  August  i6th,  1811." 

During  this  period  Paganini  visited  Lombardy  and  Romagna.  He 
appeared  at  Cesena,  at  Rimini  (Jan.  22,  1810),  at  Ravenna,  Forli, 
Imola,  Faenza,  etc.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  follow  his  migrations, 
and  a  number  of  the  earlier  biographers  hold  that  from  1808  to 
181 3  there  is  another  noticeable  lapse  of  five  years  in  his  life.  The 
entire  ignorance  which  for  a  long  time  existed  as  to  his  achieve- 
ments and  exploits,  caused  a  thousand  absurdities  to  be  related  about 
him,  which  later  on  he  had  much  difficulty  to  refute.  He  was 
accused  of  being  associated  with  the  Carbonari,  of  having  assassi- 
nated one  of  his  mistresses,  and  that  it  was  during  a  three  or  four 
years'  term  of  imprisonment  that  he  acquired  his  stupendous  dexter- 
ity in  playing  on  one  string,  the  jailer  of  the  prison,  fearing  that  he 
would  hang  himself,  having  permitted  him  to  play  on  his  violin  on 
condition  that  he  use  but  a  single  string.  The  facts  are  that  Paga- 
nini was  accredited  with  an  adventure  of  the  Polish  violinist  Dura- 
nowski,  or  Durand,  who  as  Aide-de-Camp  to  a  French  general,  was 
imprisoned  some  time  at  Milan  up  to  about  1814.  Paganini,  more- 
over, had  often  heard  and  admired  the  Polish  violinist. 

It  is  safer  to  ascribe  our  lack  of  knowledge  as  to  Paganini's 
precise  doings  during  these  four  or  five  years  to  his  ill  health,  due 
to  youthful  excesses  which  brought  on  a  nervous  trouble,  necessitat- 
ing an  enforced  rest  of  several  months.  However,  he  was  still  at- 
tached to  the  Court  at  Florence,  and  his  severing  of  this  connection 
was  the  result  of  a  rather  amusing  incident.  At  Lucca,  the  Princess 
Bonaparte  had  appointed  him  Captain  of  Gendarmes,  a  rank  which 
he  still  held  in  the  Tuscan  capital,  and  which  gave  him  the  right  to 
wear  a  uniform.  Accordingly,  he  appeared  one  evening  at  a  court- 
concert  in  all  his  military  splendor.  The  Princess  immediately 
ordered  him  to  resume  his  black  evening  clothes ;  Paganini  refused, 
saying  that  the  title  of  Captain  which  had  been  conferred  upon  him 
authorized  him  to  wear  a  uniform — without  restriction  or  stipula- 
tion. After  this  conversation  the  bold  Captain  of  Gendarmes 
actually  dared  to  promenade  in  the  ball-room  where  the  court  had 
assembled  after  the  concert.  However,  he  thought  it  wise  to  leave 
Florence,  taking  his  departure  that  very  night,  and  in  spite  of  all 
the  efforts  made  by  the  Princess  to  recall  him,  Paganini  never  again 
consented  to  appear  at  the  court  of  Eliza  Bonaparte. 


A  BIOGRAPHY  n 


A  theme  from  a  ballet  which  was  being  performed  at  that  time 
(1813)  at  Milan,  "Le  Noyer  de  Benevent,"  by  Vigano,  gave  him  the 
suggestion  for  his  variations  "le  Streghe,"  with  which  he  toured  all 
Italy  before  the  remainder  of  Europe  was  permitted  to  applaud 
them.  In  this  one  city,  where  up  to  1828  he  had  given  thirty-seven 
concerts,  he  made  his  debut  at  the  La  Scala  Theatre,  Oct.  29th, 
and  gave  some  ten  concerts  in  six  weeks.  From  that  time  on  he 
was  considered  the  foremost  violinist  of  Europe,  more  than  a 
hundred  concerts  in  all  parts  of  Italy  confirming  this  reputation. 
"Every  five  years  I  changed  my  style  of  playing,"  says  he ;  "at 
Bologna  (in  1814),  I  improvised  with  Rossini  at  the  piano  in  the 
house  of  the  Pegnalver  family.  At  Rome  I  was  not  permitted  to 
give  concerts  on  Friday  during  the  Carnival,  but  the  Vicar,  who 
later  became  Pope  Leo  XII  (1829-1830)  authorized  a  single  concert, 
as  a  special  concession.  In  view  of  the  enthusiasm  which  I  created, 
he  sent  me  of  his  own  accord,  a  most  flattering  edict  which  author- 
ized me  to  give  a  concert  every  Friday.  I  was  also  heard  at  a 
concert  given  at  the  palace  of  Prince  Kaunitz,  the  Austrian  Am- 
bassador. Prince  Metternich,  who  was  then  at  Rome,  could  not 
attend  this  concert  owing  to  an  indisposition,  but  came  to  the  palace 
the  next  morning.  To  oblige  him  I  took  the  first  violin  that  came 
to  hand  and  played  something  for  him,  which  pleased  him  so  much 
that  he  came  again  that  same  evening.  The  wife  of  the  ambassador 
said  to  me:  'You  are  the  whole  attraction,'  and  it  was  on  this 
occasion  that  Prince  Metternich  invited  me  to  come  to  Vienna.  I 
promised  to  visit  that  city  first  after  leaving  Italy.  This  tour 
through  Austria  was  postponed  on  account  of  an  illness  which  1 
contracted  and  which  was  unknown  to  all  the  medical  profession." 

March  24th.  18 14,  he  was  again  heard  at  Milan,  at  the  Re 
Theatre  with  his  pupil,  Catarina  Carcagno;  he  was  still  there  in 
May  and  in  September ;  later  he  was  at  Bologna,  at  the  Communal 
Theatre,  and  rluring  this  period  he  met  Rossini.  Tn  1815  he  toured 
Romagna  and  was  detained  for  several  months  at  Ancona  by  a 
nervous  disease.  In  March,  1816,  he  had  the  encounter  with  the 
famous  Lafont,  of  whom  he  had  heard  at  Genoa.  Paganini,  eager 
to  meet  him,  came  to  Milan,  and  after  a  i)ublic  "tournament," — both 
virtuosi  playing  the  Rode  concerto,  a  uni.sono  duet  by  Kreutzer,  and 
some  soli — (Paganini  played  le  Streghe  as  his  final  inmiber) — 
Lafont  was  declared  his  ec|ual  for  singing  tone,  but  I'aganini  was 
incomparably  superir)r  in  tcchni'|Uf.  brilliancy  of  tone  and  style. 


12  NICOLO   PAGANINI 


In  August,  at  Parma,  he  played  for  the  first  time  a  series  of 
variations  on  the  4th  string;  later  he  appeared  at  Ferrara,  with 
Gandi-Giani  of  Bologna  and  Marcolini.  While  there  he  came  within 
an  inch  of  being  lynched  by  the  crowd  on  account  of  a  witticism  at 
the  expense  of  the  citizens  of  that  place. 

In   October.    Spohr,   who   was   traveling   in    Italy,   met   him   at 
Venice. 

"Yesterday,"  he  writes  under  date  of  October  17th,  "Paganini 
returned  from  Trieste,  and  it  seems  that  he  suddenly  gave  up  his 
plan  of  going  to  Vienna.  This  morning  he  came  to  see  me,  and 
I  finally  met  this  wonderful  man  of  whom  I  had  been  told 
every  day  since  my  arrival  in  Italy.  No  performing  musician 
has  ever  enthused  the  Italians  to  this  extent;  and  although 
they  do  not  care  much  for  instrumental  recitals,  he  has  given  more 
than  a  dozen  at  Milan  and  five  here.  It  is  difficult  to  determine 
exactly  wherein  lies  the  charm  which  holds  his  audiences ;  there  are 
stories  afloat  about  him  which  in  no-wise  concern  the  musician ;  he 
is  lauded  to  the  skies,  he  is  called  a  wizard  who  draws  from  his 
violin  mystic  sounds  never  before  heard  by  human  ear.  The  critics, 
on  the  other  hand,  although  admitting  that  he  shows  a  marvelous 
dexterity  of  the  left  hand  in  double  stopping  and  passages  of  all 
kinds,  consider  those  qualities  which  fascinate  the  general  public  as 
inartistic,  lowering  him  to  the  level  of  a  juggler,  and  not  atoning  for 
his  faults,  viz. :  a  loud  tone,  faulty  bowing,  and  phrasing  which  was 
not  always  in  the  best  of  taste."(i) 

After  spending  a  year  at  Venice,  Paganini  returned  to  Milan 
and  Genoa;  shortly  afterward,  he  again  met  Rossini  at  Rome,  who 
was  bringing  out  La  Cenerentola.  It  was  then  that  he  met  Prince 
Metternich  and  not  in  1814,  as  the  autobiography  states.  Later  he 
visited  Tuscany,  touching  at  Piacenza,  Turin,  Florence  and  Verona. 
In  the  latter  city  an  amusing  episode  occurred :  Paganini  was  to  play 
some  variations  by  Valdobrani,  the  conductor  of  the  orchestra  at 
Verona,  and  at  the  rehearsal  he  took  such  liberties  with  the  com- 
position that  Valdobrani  scarcely  recognized  his  work.  "You  need 
have  no  uneasiness,"  he  was  reassured  by  the  artist,  "to-morrow  you 
will  recognize  them  as  your  own."  The  last  number  of  the  concert 
program  being  the  variations  by  Valdobrini,  Paganini  actually  ap- 
peared with  his  violin  in  one  hand  and  a  light  bamboo  cane  in  the 

<lj    Spohr— Selbst  Biographie  1.   p.   304. 


HOUSIC   AT   GENOA,    WllKKK    HAGANIM    WAS    B(JKN 


A  BIOGRAPHY  ^3 


Other,  which  he  wielded  as  a  bow,  to  the  great  edification  and  delight 
of  the  amused  audience. 

At  Florence  he  took  up  with  Lipinski,  his  Polish  rival,  the 
struggle  for  supremacy  in  which  he  had  engaged  with  Lafont  (17th 
to  23d  of  April).  In  December,  1818,  and  January,  1819,  he  ap- 
peared at  the  Carignano  in  Turin,  and  in  February  at  Florence.  He 
spent  the  summer  in  Naples,  giving  concerts  at  the  Del  Fondo  Thea- 
tre. While  there  his  condition  was  again  critical,  as  regards  his 
health.  The  proprietor  of  the  rooms  which  he  occupied  in  the  Petraio 
quarter,  fearing  the  plague,  had  him  brought  out  into  the  street  in 
his  bed !  There  he  was  discovered  by  his  pupil,  the  'cellist  Ciandelli, 
who  found  more  comfortable  and  sanitary  quarters  for  him,  nor  did 
he  neglect  administering  to  the  barbarous  Neapolitan  the  punishment 
he  well  deserved.  Having  recovered  rapidly,  Paganini  gave  a  new 
series  of  concerts.  In  March,  1820,  he  was  again  at  Milan,  which 
had  grown  as  dear  to  him  as  his  own  native  city.  While  there  he 
directed  the  Gli  Orfei  concerts,  which  l)rought  him  a  medal.  At 
Rome,  in  December,  he  conducted  the  premiere  of  Rossini's  "Ma- 
tilda di  Shabra,"  the  leader  of  the  orchestra,  Bello,  having  died  sud- 
denly at  one  of  the  last  rehearsals.  After  having  appeared  in  sev- 
eral concerts  at  the  Argentina  (in  the  spring  of  1821)  and  having 
shown  his  mastery  of  the  guitar  at  various  soirees,  before  a  circle 
of  admiring  friends,  he  left  once  more  for  Naples,  where  he  played 
at  the  Del  Fondo  and  Nuovo  Theatres.  "At  last,"  writes  Candler 
to  the  Morgenblatt,  "1  heard  and  admired  at  the  Del  Fondo  Theatre, 
Italy's  greatest  violinist,  Ercole^^^  Paganini.  The  Hercules  among 
Italian  violinists  has  given  two  concerts  here,  the  first  on  July  20th, 
and  the  second  on  .September  ist;  he  also  gave  a  third  about  the 
middle  of  this  month  at  the  Nuovo  Theatre. — Paganini  is  certainly 
an  artist  with  a  style  all  his  own.  who  follows  no  jiarticular  method 
but  is  guided  by  rules  of  his  own  making,  even  though  tliey  might 
not  all  have  been  approved  by  Apollo." 

After  spending  the  winter  of  1821-1822  at  Palermo,  "where," 
says  Niggli,  "he  found  hut  few  admirers,"  Paganini  returned  to 
Rome  about  the  time  of  the  Carnival,  which  he  spent  gayly  with 
Rossini.  Massimino  d'Azcglio  and  Liparini.  Later,  by  way  of 
Venice  and   I^iacenza,  he  returned  to  Milan   (March-April,   1822). 


(1)  The  author  of  Ihl.M  .iiticle  fiToncoualy  gave  the  celebrated  artist  the 
surname  of  Ercole,  which  happened  to  be  that  of  another  Italian  violinist  of 
the  same  name. 


14  NICOLO   PAGANINI 


It  was  then  that  he  laid  plans  to  tour  Germany,  which,  however, 
were  not  reaHzed  until  six  years  later.  In  January,  1823,  just  at  a 
time  when  he  was  preparing  to  give  another  series  of  concerts 
throughout  the  peninsula,  he  was  detained  at  Parma  through  illness. 
Eventually  he  gave  several  concerts  at  Turin  and  then  went  to 
Genoa  to  recuperate.  In  May,  1824,  he  appeared  at  San  Agostino 
before  his  compatriots,  who  received  him  with  enthusiastic  demon- 
strations. He  took  leave  for  some  time  to  reap  more  laurels  at  the 
La  Scala  Theatre  on  June  12th,  and  then  returned  to  Genoa  to  give 
two  concerts  (June  30th  and  July  7th).  In  the  fall  he  again  went 
to  Venice  by  way  of  Milan,  and  there  he  met  Signora  Antonia 
Bianchi,  a  native  of  Como,  who  for  several  years  accompanied  him 
everywhere;  a  son,  Achillino,  was  born  to  them  at  Palermo  July 
23d,  1825.  A  sojourn  in  Sicily  had  now  become  actually  imperative 
to  fortify  his  ever  delicate  constitution;  he  remained  there  in  1825 
and  1826,  appearing  in  Rome,  however  (three  concerts  in  1825), 
and  in  Naples  (April  15th — concert  at  Del  Fondo  Theatre,  with  La 
Tosi,  Novelli,  Fioravanti  and  Lablache).  At  Palermo  he  was 
coldly  received. 

Subsequently  he  went  to  northern  Italy,  passing  through  Trieste, 
Venice  (in  the  summer  of  1826),  Rome  (spring  of  1827),  Florence, 
Perugia,  and  Bologna,  where  he  was  forced  to  remain  eight  months, 
suffering  with  a  trouble  with  one  of  his  legs;  finally,  after  a  fare- 
well trip  to  Genoa,  he  returned  to  Milan  toward  the  close  of  1827 
before  undertaking  his  trip  through  central  Europe. 


A  BIOGRAPHY  15 


II. 

N  the  course  of  his  career  the  echoes  of  his  fame  resounded 
throughout  Germany,  France  and  England,  and  myths 
were  woven  about  the  artist,  showing  him  as  the  weird, 
phantastic  creature  which  posterity  insists  on  seeing  in 
him.  This  "magician  of  the  South,"  this  "sorcerer,"  as  the  Ger- 
mans call  him,  this  "king  of  the  violin,"  as  he  was  christened  by  all 
Europe,  was  then  about  forty  years  of  age.  Doubtless  his  features 
were  not  cast  in  that  sad,  misanthropic,  almost  wretched  expression 
which  the  portraits  of  Paganini,  engraved  toward  1830,  show. 
However,  the  bizarre  appearance  which  so  many  writers  have  de- 
scribed and  whose  characteristics  have  been  preserved  for  us  in  so 
many  drawings  and  caricatures,  had  already  formed. 

"Five  feet  five  inches  in  height,  built  on  long  sinuous  lines,  a 
long,  pale  face,  with  strong  lineaments,  a  protruding  nose,  an  eagle 
eye,  and  curly  hair  flowing  to  his  shoulders,  hiding  an  extremely 
thin  neck;  two  lines,  one  might  say  were  graven  on  his  cheeks  by 
his  profession,  for  they  resembled  the  //  of  a  violin  or  double-bass. 
Bright  with  the  fire  of  genius,  his  pupils  roll  in  the  orbits  of  his  eyes 
and  turn  toward  those  of  his  accompanists  of  whom  he  does  not  feel 
quite  sure.  His  wrist  is  so  loose  and  supple  that  I  would  compare 
the  play  of  his  hands  to  the  movement  of  a  handkerchief  tied  to  the 
end  of  a  stick,  and  floating  in  the  breeze."  Such  is  the  description 
of  Paganini  by  Castil-Blaze,  in  1831. 

"He  is  as  thin  as  anyone  can  possibly  be,"  writes  his  biographer 
Schottky,  before  Castil-Blaze ;  "with  this  a  sallow  complexion,  a 
pointed  aquiline  nose,  and  long  bony  fingers.  He  seems  barely  able 
to  support  the  weight  of  his  clothes,  and  when  he  bows,  his  body  is 
so  strangely  contorted  that  one  fears  any  moment  the  feet  will  part 
company  with  the  re.st  of  him,  and  the  whole  frame  fall  suddenly 
to  the  ground,  a  heap  of  bones.  When  he  plays,  his  right  foot  is 
advanced  and  in  brilliant  passages  marks  the  time  with  ludicrous 
rapidity,  the  face,  however,  not  losing  its  stony  impassiveness  except 
for  the  shadow  of  a  smile  when  thunders  of  applause  greeted  him ; 
then  his  lips  moved  and  his  eyes,  full  of  expression,  but  without 
kindliness,  flashed  in  all  directions.  In  repose,  his  body  forms  a 
sort  of  triangle,  bending  in  an  absolutely  uni([ue  manner,  while  the 
head  and  the  right  foot  are  held  forward." 


16  NICOLO   PAGANINI 


A  "Physiological  notice"  juiblished  at  this  period  by  Dr.  Ben- 
nati/i)  enables  us  better  than  any  more  "learned"  essay,  to  solve  the 
"mystery"  of  this  almost  phenomenal  organism ;  these  pathological 
and  scientific  observations  show  this  man  in  a  more  human  guise, 
about  whom  the  wildest  stories  were  told,  circulated  by  his  enemies 
and  envious  rivals. 

"I  will  not  analyze  the  features  of  his  face,"  says  Dr.  Bennati, 
"nor  speak  of  the  bump  of  melody,  which  is  strongly  developed  at 
the  outer  angle  of  his  forehead ;  I  will  merely  show  him  in  his  en- 
tirety as  an  organism  made  expressly,  one  might  say,  for  attaining 
the  highest  perfection  as  an  executant  musician,  which  he  has 
reached,  and  based  on  this  I  hope  to  demonstrate  the  truth  of  an 
opinion  which  I  have  given,  namely,  that  the  superiority  of  the  cele- 
brated violinist  is  less  a  result  of  continued  practice,  as  has  been 
averred,  but  rather  of  special  physical  fitness.  Doubtless  many 
stages  of  development  were  required  to  create  this  new  and  wonder- 
ful mechanism  by  which  he  has  been  able  to  put  himself  beyond 
comparison ;  unquestionably  his  genius  pre-existed.  Paganini,  to  be 
what  he  is,  had  to  unite  perfect  musical  intelligence  with  organs  of 
the  most  delicate  sensitiveness  to  exercise  it.  His  head  alone  should 
have  made  Paganini  a  distinguished  composer,  a  musician  of  the 
highest  standing ;  but  without  his  delicate  sense  of  rhythm,  the  build 
of  his  body,  his  shoulders,  arms  and  hands,  he  could  never  have 
been  the  incomparable  virtuoso  whom  we  all  admire. 

"Paganini  is  pale,  thin  and  of  middle  stature.  Although  he  is 
only  forty-seven,  his  thin  frame  and  the  loss  of  his  teeth  make  his 
lips  look  drawn,  while  his  chin  protrudes,  giving  him  a  far  more 
aged  look.  The  large  head  on  a  long,  scrawny  neck,  together  with 
his  lanky  limbs,  at  first  gives  a  strong  impression  of  disproportion. 
A  high  forehead,  broad  and  massive,  an  aquiline  and  very  character- 
istic nose,  beautifully  arched  eyebrows,  a  mobile,  malicious  mouth, 
slightly  resembling  Voltaire's,  large  protruding  ears,  standing  well 
off  from  the  head,  long  black  hair  falling  carelessly  to  his  shoulders 
and  contrasting  with  his  pale  skin,  gave  Paganini's  appearance  an 
extraordinary  cast,  and  to  a  certain  degree  testified  to  his  undeniable 
genius. 

"It  has  been  erroneously  stated  that  an  expression  of  physical 
pain  gave  to  Paganini's  features  a  stamp  of  wild  melancholy,  attrib- 

(1)  Revue  de  Paris,  May,  1831,  pages  52-60.  I  owe  this  interesting  article 
to  Mr.  Adolph  Boschot. 


A  BIOGRAPHY  ij 


uted  to  weariness  of  living.  I  can  say  that  in  my  intercourse  with 
Paganini  1  never  obtained  anything  like  this  impression  in  regard 
to  his  character.  I  always  saw  him  gay,  brilliant,  even  full  of  fun 
when  among  friends,  while  with  his  charming  little  Achille  he  was 
as  playful  as  a  child,  and  I  am  in  a  better  position  than  anyone  else 
to  form  an  opinion  of  Paganini.  For  more  than  ten  years  I  was  on 
an  intimate  footing  with  him,  and  had  countless  opportunities  to 
observe  him,  first  in  Italy,  and  particularly  at  Vienna,  where  I  had 
occasion  to  render  him  my  professional  services  during  several 
months,  and  thus  no  physiological  condition  during  his  life  is  un- 
known to  me.  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  no  one  but  a  friend 
could  have  obtained  the  details  as  to  his  health  or  his  former  illness, 
necessary  to  judge  of  his  physiological  condition;  as  he  would  have 
given  no  opportunity  to  others  to  examine  the  various  organs  and 
the  build  of  his  body  and  limbs,  and  they  would  have  had  no  clue  to 
the  phenomenon  presented  by  the  wonderful  physical  mechanism 
underlying  his  art.  However,  before  going  further  into  this 
mechanism,  which  I  believe  to  be  a  great  part  of  the  secret  which 
Paganini  is  supposed  to  possess,  I  will  touch  on  more  important 
questions." 

Paganini  was  no  consumptive,  as  was  at  first  feared.  Bennati, 
with  Dr.  JNIiquel,  at  Paris,  convinced  himself  of  this  point; 
"he  is  thin,"  says  the  doctor,  "not  on  account  of  tuberculosis, 
but  because  it  is  his  nature  to  be  so.  The  left  shoulder  is 
higher  than  the  other,  which  when  he  stands  erect,  with  his 
arms  hanging,  makes  the  right  one  seem  much  longer.  l*ar- 
ticularly  noticeable  is  the  extensibility  of  the  capsular  ligaments 
at  the  shoulders,  and  the  slackness  of  the  ligament  uniting  the  hand 
and  fore-arm,  also  the  carpals  and  meta-carpals  and  the  phalanges 
with  each  other.  Tlie  Jiand.is  iio-4arger.  than  normal,  htit  he  can 
double  its  reach  by  the  flexibility  of  all  his  joints.  Thus,  for  in- 
stance, he  gives  to  the  first  phalanges  of  the  fingers  of  his  left  hand, 
on  the  strings,  a  remarkable  flexion  which,  while  his  han<l  remains 
motionless,  moves  them  laterally  to  their  natural  fiexion,  and  this 
with  ease,  precision  and  rapidity."  I'aganini's  art  is  simply  a  result 
of  practice  and  of  his  physical  fitness.  "I  lis  cerebellum  is  enormous. 
His  sense  of  hearing  is  wonderfully  developed :  he  hears  what  is 
said,  even  in  a  whisper,  at  a  great  distance,  anfl  the  sensitiveness  of 
his  tympanum  is  such  that  it  positively  pains  him  to  have  anyone 


jg  ■  NICOLO   PAGANINI 


close  beside  him  speak  in  a  loud  tone  of  voice.  He  is  then  obliged 
to  turn  and  face  the  interlocutor.  This  sensation  is  far  more  pro- 
nounced on  the  left  ear,  which  is  the  one  corresponding  to  the  posi- 
tion of  the  violin.  His  ears  are  admirably  adapted  for  receiving 
sound  waves,  the  cavity  being  wide  and  deep;  the  shell  is  strongly 
marked,  and  all  its  lines  are  deeply  graven.  It  is  impossible  to  find 
a  better,  more  perfectly  proportioned  ear  in  all  its  parts,  and  one 
more  strongly  defined." 

"The  delicacy  of  Paganini's  hearing  surpasses  anything  imagin- 
able," continues  Bennati.  "While  the  largest  orchestra  is  playing 
with  the  full  strength  of  its  wind  instruments  he  needs  but  a  slight 
touch  with  one  finger  to  tune  his  violin ;  he  instantly  detects  under 
all  circumstances  an  instrument  which  is  out  of  tune,  even  the  less 
noticeable  ones,  and  this  at  an  incredible  distance.  On  several 
occasions,  he  has  shown  the  absolute  perfection  of  his  musical 
hearing  by  playing  'true'  on  a  violin  which  was  not  in  tune. 

"Paganini  is  permeated  with  music ;  at  the  age  of  five  the  chimes, 
which  are  quite  frequent  in  Italy,  sometimes  made  him  radiantly 
happy,  and  sometimes  strangely  melancholy.  At  church  he  could 
not  listen  to  the  organ  without  being  moved  to  tears.  No  matter 
how  weak  and  ill  he  may  be,  the  first  sound  of  the  bow  is  like  an 
electric  spark  which  gives  him  new  life,  all  his  nerves  vibrate  like 
the  strings  of  his  violin,  and  his  brain  has  no  other  faculty  than  to 
express  the  transports  of  his  musical  soul.  His  instrument  and  he 
are  one.  For  two  hours  he  lives  through  his  violin;  his  soul  is 
carried  far  beyond  us ;  calls  to  us  from  there,  commands  us  as  a 
sovereign,  and  it  is  then  that  Paganini's  body  obeys  the  irresistible 
power ;  nature  is  forced  to  respond  to  the  demands  made,  and  bring 
forth  the  ravishing  harmonies  which  fill  his  soul." 

This  is  Paganini  from  a  physiological  point  of  view.  Others 
intimately  associated  with  him,  for  instance  his  secretary,  George 
Harrys,  have  aided  in  studying  him  psychologically.  Morally 
Paganini's  actions  were  often  quite  dififerent  from  the  interpreta- 
tions given  them  by  his  contemporaries,  who  were  deceived  by 
appearances.  He  was  often  accused  of  avarice;  his  stinginess  be- 
came proverbial,  and  his  fortune,  at  one  time,  was  estimated  at  7 
millions. ^i>  In  reality  it  exceeded  this  sum,  although,  without  cor- 
roborative documents,  it  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  fortune  to  which, 


(1)  J.    Janin,    article   in   the   Journal    des   Debats   on   the   death    (falsely  re- 
ported) of  Paganini  (Feb.  14th,  18.35). 


A  BIOGRAPHY 


19 


in  1840,  Achille  Paganini  fell  heir.  However,  the  stories  of  his 
wealth  were  not  unfounded.  Paganini  always  demanded  a  very 
high  price  from  the  public  who  crowded  to  hear  him.  In  Austria 
and  in  Germany  the  cheapest  seat  was  2  thaler  (7  fr.  50).  Every- 
where he  doubled  and  tripled  the  price  of  seats ;  in  London  alone  he 
had  to  be  satisfied  with  the  usual  prices,  which,  however,  were  far 
better  than  the  prices  in  vogue  on  the  continent.  "It  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  Paganini  was  an  Italian,"  says  Dr.  Kohut,  "and  that 
most  Italians,  with  few  exceptions,  if  not  avaricious,  are  at  least 
very  economical.  Why  should  Paganini  be  otherwise?  He  lived 
in  the  best  hotels  of  the  towns  where  he  gave  his  concerts,  took  the 
choicest  rooms,  drank  wine,  gave  generous  tips  and  spent  much  on 
charity. "(^^  His  illness,  or  rather  his  infirmity,  forbade  his  eating 
much,  and  he  seemed  to  live  sparingly.  "II  poco  mangiar  e  il  poco 
ber  hanno  mai  fatto  male  (little  eating  and  drinking  have  never 
done  harm),"  said  he. 

Although  he  charged  big  prices  for  his  concerts,  he  readily  gave 
free  tickets  to  young  musicians  and  poor  amateurs  who  wished  to 
hear  him,  and  many  artists  borrowed  considerable  sums  from  him 
which  he  never  reclaimed. 

We  know  how  Paganini  stood  with  his  family ;  after  the  death 
of  his  father  in  1817  or  1818  (about  1825  according  to  Niggli),  he 
supported  his  mother  and  one  of  his  sisters,  who  lived  at  home  with 
her;  he  also  loaned  5,000  francs  to  another  sister  (which  went  to 
pay  the  gambling  debts  of  her  husband,  and  were  never  returned). 
When  he  parted  with  Antonia  Rianchi,  at  Vienna,  he  gave  a  concert 
for  her  benefit,  and  left  her  2,000  ecus  (3,731  florins  currency). 
Me  testated  to  her  a  revenue  of  1,2(10  francs  after  his  death.  Of 
course  these  are  not  enormous  sums,  but  it  would  seem  that  Paga- 
nini's  much  talked  of  penuriousncss  was  nothing  but  strict  economy, 
and  a  careful  management  of  the  fortune  he  accjuired,  after  having 
dissipated  so  much  in  his  youth. 

On  having  separated  from  Antonia.  after  having  livcfl  togetlur 
for  four  years,  Paganini  continuefl  his  travels  with  his  little  son  ; 
he  never  parted  from  him  and  rarely  consented  to  have  him  out  of 
his  sight  even  for  a  short  time. 

Contemporaries  have  spoken  of  little  Achille-Cyrus-AUxander 
Paganini  as  a  very  beautiful  child,  with  black  eyes,  long  brown  hair. 

(1)  Ad.  Kohut,  Auk  dfm  Zauberlandc  I'dlyhymnla'n.  p.  215-23S,  Ncuch  Uber 
Nicolo  Paganini. 


2Q  NICOLO   PAGANINI 


and  a  charming,  intelligent  face;  he  inherited  from  his  mother  a 
fine  voice  and  at  the  age  of  two  already  gave  evidence  of  an  extra- 
ordinarily true  and  sensitive  ear.  When  seven  years  of  age  he 
spoke  Italian  fluently  and  also  French  and  German  sufficiently  well 
to  serve  as  interpreter  to  his  father,  who  could  not  express  himself 
in  other  than  the  Italian  and  French  languages.  One  day  Paganini 
was  asked  whether  he  would  have  his  son  study  music:  "And  why 
not?"  said  he,  "if  it  gives  him  pleasure,  I  myself  will  teach  him.  I 
love  him  dearly  and  am  actually  jealous  of  him.  If  I  should  lose 
him  I  would  be  lost  myself,  because  I  simply  cannot  do  without  him. 
Day  and  night  he  is  my  only  thought." 

On  entering  Paganini's  room,  one  could  always  find  Achillino 
playing  with  a  wealth  of  toys,  lavished  upon  him  by  an  indulgent 
father.  Sometimes  the  child  amused  himself  with  a  violin,  on 
which  he  played  very  pretty  little  melodies.  One  could  die  laugh- 
ing, says  an  eye  witness,  to  see  Paganini  in  slippers,  playing  with 
his  boy,  who  scarcely  reached  to  his  knee.  Sometimes  the  child 
brandished  his  terrible  broadsword  before  his  father,  and  Paga- 
nini in  mock  fright  drew  back  laughing.  "Angelo  mio,  I  am  already 
wounded,"  he  groaned,  but  the  youngster  was  not  satisfied  until  the 
giant  staggered  and  fell  to  the  floor. 

When  Achillino  was  four  years  old,  he  became  capricious  and 
unmanageable ;  above  all  he  had  a  horror  of  washing  his  hands. 
His  father,  far  from  losing  patience,  did  not  scold  him,  but  begged 
and  pleaded,  overwhelmed  him  with  tenderness  and  kindness  and  in 
this  way  obtained  obedience  and  submission.  He  was  never  im- 
patient or  angry  with  him,  but  let  him  do  as  he  pleased.  When 
some  one  called  his  attention  to  the  "bad  bringing  up"  of  Achillino, 
Paganini  answered :  "The  poor  child  is  lonesome ;  I  don't  know 
what  to  do ;  I  have  exhausted  every  kind  of  game  and  toy.  I  have 
carried  him  about,  I  have  made  him  some  chocolate ;  I  am  at  my 
wits  end !"  He  would  leave  the  care  of  dressing  him  to  no  one  else. 
One  morning,  before  going  to  a  concert  which  began  early,  Paganini 
had  forgotten  the  time  while  at  play  with  Achillino.  When  he 
wanted  to  dress  hurriedly,  he  could  not  find  his  things,  which  he 
had  laid  out  the  night  before;  his  coat,  his  tie,  everything  had 
disappeared.  The  child  was  greatly  amused  to  see  his  father  vainly 
searching  in  all  the  corners,  and  his  expression  finally  gave  Paga- 
nini a  clue:  "Where  are  my  things,  angelo  mio?"  he  asked  in  dulcet 
tones.     The  little  one  feigned  astonishment,  shrugged  his  shoulders 


NICOI.O  I'A<iANlNI 
(Portrait  by  Isola,  in  the  Municipal  (iallery  at  Genoa.) 


A  BIOGRAPHY 


21 


and  intimated  that  he  did  not  understand.  After  an  elaborate 
search  the  father  finally  found  his  boots,  hidden  behind  some 
cushions,  then  the  coat  tucked  away  in  a  trunk,  the  vest  in  a  drawer. 
Paganini  waved  each  article,  when  found,  triumphantly  in  the  air, 
took  a  pinch  of  snuflf  and  continued  his  investigations,  followed  by 
Achillino,  who  was  delighted  at  the  proceedings. 

While  traveling  through  Europe  with  his  young  companion  and 
a  secretary(i)  Paganini  insisted  on  having  his  car  hermetically 
closed,  and  even  when  the  thermometer  registered  20  degrees  C,  he 
wrapped  himself  up  in  his  furs,  to  which  he  clung  as  he  did  to  his 
child.  In  his  rooms,  on  the  contrary,  he  immediately  opened  all  the 
doors  and  windows,  which  he  called  taking  an  air-bath.  The 
violin  cases  which  were  not  used  to  hold  his  Guarnerius  were  trans- 
formed into  kit-bags  in  which  he  packed  his  linen  and  valuables. 
His  accounts  were  kept  in  a  red  note  book,  receipts  and  disburse- 
ments being  noted  therein  in  hieroglyphics  which  no  one  but  him- 
self could  decipher.  His  rooms  were  always  in  the  most  chaotic 
state,  says  his  secretary,  sheet  music,  clothes,  boots,  everything 
topsy-turvy ;  he  had  much  trouble  in  getting  the  child  dressed  and 
putting  on  his  clothes  for  public  appearance. 

At  rehearsals  with  orchestra  he  was  extremely  severe,  going 
back  to  the  beginning  of  a  solo  or  tutti  a  number  of  times  for 
the  slightest  error ;  he  looked  daggers  at  the  terrified  musicians, 
and  if  the  orchestra  had  the  misfortune  to  start  in  too  soon, 
before  he  had  finished  his  cadenza,  he  broke  into  a  Hood  of 
invective;  whereas,  if  all  went  well,  he  expressed  his  satisfaction 
emphatically:  "Bravissimo!"  he  would  cry  in  llic  middle  of  a 
concerto,  "sietc  tutti  virtuosi";  on  other  occasions  he  was  satisfied 
after  giving  a  few  tempi,  and  turning  to  the  orchestra,  would  say: 
"Et  catera,  messieurs." 

Any  number  of  these  anecdotes  are  told,  but  these  will  suffice  to 
show  us  the  character  of  the  man  whose  physif>logy  Dr.  iiennati 
has  described.  Some  of  the  stories  show  us  Paganini  as  an  ex- 
tremely nervous,  impressionable  being,  having  good  traits  and  fine 
sentiments  in  spite  of  appearances  to  the  cfmtrary.  To  study  Paga- 
nini we   fortunately  have  a  number  of   notes  made  by  a  careful 


(1)  One  of  these,  Gforge  Harry.s,  attached  to  U»-  ManoviTian  KmlniHHy.  but 
of  EnKllsh  origin,  says  NIggll,  served  him  In  1S30  uk  manajfi-r  and  Interpreter 
during  the  tour  of  northern  Oermnny.  Fmm  hl»  pamphlet.  "PaKanlnln 
Tra%'el.s,"   the  biographers  have  taken   the  above  anecdolcH. 


22 


NICOLO   PAGANINI 


observer,  Karl  Guhr,  himself  a  distinguished  violinist,  and  musical 
conductor  and  manager  of  the  theatre  at  Frankfort,  v^rho  published 
in  1829  the  result  of  his  observations  and  personal  experiences. <^> 

"I  was  fortunate  enough,"  says  Guhr,  "during  my  stay  at  Paris, 
several  years  ago,  to  hear  the  greatest  masters  of  the  French  school : 
Baillot,  Lafont,  Beriot,  Boucher,  and  several  others,  and  shall  never 
forget  the  profound  impression  which  their  wonderful  art  made 
upon  me;  still,  their  playing  did  not  differ  much  from  that  of  other 
great  masters  whom  I  had  heard,  and  although  each  one's  style 
was  more  or  less  distinct,  they  were  much  alike  in  their  manner  of 
bowing,  production  of  sound  and  execution,  and  the  differences 
were  not  really  perceptible.  With  Paganini  it  is  different ;  every- 
thing about  him  is  new — unique — he  obtains  sounds  and  effects 
with  his  instrument  which  no  one  ever  dreamed  of,  and  which  mere 
words  cannot  describe.  Rode,  Kreutzer,  Baillot,  Spohr,  these  stars 
among  violinists,  seemed  to  have  exhausted  the  possibilities  of  this 
instrument.  They  had  extended  the  mechanism,  evolved  countless 
ways  of  handling  the  bow  to  make  it  respond  to  the  most  delicate 
shading;  by  the  magic  of  this  tone,  which  rivaled  the  human  voice, 
they  succeeded  in  expressing  all  the  passions — every  feeling  that 
stirs  the  heart.  Finally,  following  along  the  paths  shown  by  Corelli, 
Tartini  and  Viotti,  they  lifted  the  violin  to  the  rank  which  gives  it 
power  to  sway  the  human  soul.  In  their  way  they  are  and  ever 
will  be  great  and  unsurpassed. 

"On  hearing  Paganini,  however,  and  comparing  him  with  other 
masters,  it  must  be  admitted  that  he  surpasses  every  standard  here- 
tofore established.  His  ways  are  all  his  own  and  distinguish  him 
from  those  other  great  artists.  Whoever  hears  him  for  the  first 
time  is  astounded,  carried  away  by  all  he  hears  that  is  new  and 
surprising;  astonished  by  the  demoniacal  power  with  which  he 
wields  the  bow ;  enchanted  by  the  facility  of  a  technique  which  is 
adequate  to  every  requirement,  at  the  same  time  lifting  the  spirit 
to  unknown  heights,  and  giving  to  the  violin  the  breath  of  the 
human  voice  divine,  which  stirs  the  soul  to  its  very  depths." 

Guhr  goes  on  to  say  that  he  often  had  occasion  to  hear  Paga- 
nini and  chat  with  him,  during  eight  months  which  he  spent  at 
Frankfort,  but  avoiding  any  explanation,  Paganini  invariably  said, 


(1)  L'Art  de  jouer  du  violon,  by  Paganini  (Paris,  1830).  Ai.  arUcle  hy 
Guhr,  on  the  same  subject,  appeared  in  la  Caecilia  (No.  14  or  4J,  analyzed  by 
Fetis,  Revue  Musicale,  December,  1829,  p.   505-512). 


A  BIOGRAPHY  23 


when  questioned  in  regard  to  his  methods  and  the  exercises  which 
he  practiced :  "Ogniin'a  suoi  segreti."  These  "secrets"  the  German 
Kapellmeister  resolved  to  discover.  By  watching  the  master's  per- 
formances attentively,  he  succeeded  in  finding  a  key  to  several  of 
these,  which  at  first  hearing  seemed  like  so  many  puzzles  even  to 
professionals.     Guhr  concludes : 

"Paganini  is  distinguished  from  other  artists:  ist.  By  his  manner 
of  tuning  his  instrument.  2nd.  By  his  handling  of  his  bow — which 
is  peculiar  to  him.  3rd.  By  the  mingling  and  uniting  of  sounds 
produced  with  the  bow  and  the  pizzicato  of  the  left  hand.  4th.  By 
his  use  of  harmonics,  double  or  single.  5th.  By  his  playing  on  the 
G  string  alone. ^^^     6th.  By  his  seemingly  impossible  feats. 

"Paganini's  style  of  playing  re(|uires  fine  strings  for  the  following 
reasons:  ist.  Because  he  frequently  plays  the  shrillest  tones,  which 
other  violinists  very  rarely  use.  2nd.  Because  the  harmonic  sounds, 
especially  the  artificial  ones,  carry  better  on  the  fine  strings  in  the 
high  positions.  3rd.  Because  if  the  strings  were  heavier,  the 
strength  of  the  second,  third  and  fourth  fingers  would  not  be  ade- 
quate to  master  them  in  the  pizzicato  for  the  left  hand.  4th.  He 
sometimes  tunes  the  four  strings  half  a  tone  higher,  and  someti:nes 
the  G  string  a  minor  third  higher,  and  for  this  reason  the  whole 
mounting  must  be  fine,  since  heavy  strings  would  not  bear  the  strain 
without  growing  harsh  and  shrill,  which  would  detract  from  the 
performance  (it  is  therefore  a  fact  that  the  fine  strings  are  less 
sonorous).'-) 

(1)  Paganlni  mnuntcd  tliis  famous  fourth  .string  beside  the  treble  string,  In 
place  of  the  A  .strln;?,  esin'oially  for  playing  th<r  \rirlations  on  "MoKes'  Prayer"; 
the  celebrated  violinist,  Camllk-  Sivori,  a  piiidl  of  I'aganini,  followed  the  example 
of  his  teacher  and  used  this  same  trick  In  playing  these  variations. 

(2)  "IJesldes  giving  less  t^ne  than  a  violin  mounted  with  lii-avy  strings,  the 
fine  strings  have  another  liinwback,  esi)ecinlly  In  wet  weather,  when  the  E 
string  is  very  apt  to  slip.  This  accident  happened  to  Paganlni  quite  freciuently, 
and    Invariably   detracted    from    the   assurance   with    which    b«'   ordinarily   played. 

"An  Important  factor  which  enters  Into  his  way  of  mounting  the  strlngfr, 
with  a  view  I0  playing  h;iinionlcs.  Is  that  the  strings  must  be  well  attuned  to 
each  other,  or  In  other  words,  the  fifths  must  be  absolutely  true,  otherwise 
a  sequence  of  double  harmonics  would  be  Impossible." 

Ouhr  states  that  Paganlni  carefully  selected  the  fourth  string  before  having 
It  drawn,  choosing  one  of  medium  thickness  if  it  was  to  be  tuned  to  G  and 
finer  if  he  infc-nded  to  tune  It   to  A   flat,  or  B  flat. 

"After  what  I  have  told  of  him,  continues  the  German  author,  it  is  easy  to 
conceive  that  Paganlni,  when  he  plays  In  put>llc,  changes  hiw  (I  as  deslreil,  and 
thanks  to  the  precaution  above  mentioned,  the  string  remains  absolutely  In 
tune.     His  skill  In  tuning  In  the  middle  of  a  number  seems  really  quite  Incredible. 

I t'ttfttnnte  rttntlnufd  an  page  24) 


24  NICOLO   PAGANINI 


"Paganini's  bowing  is  above  all  remarkable  for  the  bounding 
movement  which  he  uses  in  certain  passages.  His  staccato  is  en- 
tirely different  from  what  is  usually  heard.  He  throws  the  bow  on 
the  strings  and  runs  up  and  down  the  scales  with  marvellous  rapid- 
ity, the  cadences  rippling  out  from  beneath  his  fingers  like  so  many 
strings  of  pearls.  The  variety  of  his  bowing  is  wonderful ;  I  never 
heard  such  nicety,  such  precision,  in  marking  time  and  sounding  the 
lightest  beat  in  the  most  rapid  movement;  and  yet  what  power  he 
can  develop  in  slow  passages ;  with  what  deep  feeling  he  breathes 
the  sigh  of  a  heart  torn  with  grief." 

Guhr  states  in  regard  to  Paganini's  mingling  of  sounds  pro- 
duced by  the  bow  and  the  pizzicato  of  the  left  hand,  that  this  effect 
was  often  used  by  the  old  Italian  school,  especially  in  Mestrino's 
time;  however,  the  French  and  German  schools  had  condemned  it 
and  it  had  fallen  into  disuse.  "Paganini  in  reviving  it  added  new 
features,  as  he  did  in  all  branches  of  his  art,  and  also  added  to  the 
difficulties.  These  latter  consisted  in  sharply  sounding  the  D  and 
G  strings ;  the  flexibility  of  Paganini's  strings  permits  him  to  do  in 
this  respect  what  would  be  difficult  to  execute  on  a  violin  which  was 
more  tensely  strung."  Besides,  Paganini's  bridge  was  less  convex 
than  that  of  other  violinists,  particularly  towards  the  treble  string, 
which  permitted  him  to  take  three  strings  at  once  in  the  high 
positions. 

The  use  of  harmonics  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  features 
of  his  playing;  he  employed  them  with  "wonderful  skill";  chromatic 
scales  up  and  down,  double  and  single  trills,  entire  passages  in 
double  stops,  he  rendered  all  these  in  harmonics  with  the  greatest 
ease.^^) 


(  Footnote  contintiedfrom  page  23) 

"He  has  his  G  finely  but  tightly  wound — he  never  twists  them,  as  it  would 
be  detrimental,  but  after  the  string  is  covered,  he  draws  it  tightly  between  the 
first  finger  and  thumb,  so  that  the  thumb  nail  lightly  scrapes  the  string  cover- 
ing, which  brings  out  the  sound  more  readily,  and  takes  away  that  harshness 
which   new  strings  have." 


(l>  "A  long  time  ago,"  says  Fetis,  "harmonics  were  discovered  and  used  by 
violinists,  but  the  leaders  In  the  art,  like  Tartini,  Pugnani,  Viotti,  Gavinifes,  Rode 
and  Balllot,  did  not  practice  them  because  they  considered  them  tricks  and 
cheap  expedients  for  obtaining  effects,  rather  than  legitimate  means  worthy  of 
the  highest  art.  Tliey  could  not  reconcile  breadth  of  style  and  lofty  ideas  with 
effects,  which  as*  they  were  then  practiced,  required  only  a  certain  amount  of 
skill  and  strings  of  good  quality.  Paganini,  however,  did  not  look  at  the  art 
of  violin  playing  in  this  way.  He  preferred  variety  of  effects  on  his  instrument 
to    using   the    usual    means    for   acquiring   a    grand    imposing   style,    and   as   he 

(Footnote  continued  on  page  25) 


A  BIOGRAPHY 


25 


Referring  to  his  playing  on  the  G  string,  which  did  so  much  for 
his  reputation,  Guhr  writes:  "Paganini,  in  order  to  play  entire 
numbers  on  the  G  string,  raises  it  a  minor  third,  (as  has  already 
been  stated),  to  B  flat,  or  even  B  natural,  using  a  very  much  finer 
string.  The  compositions  written  for  this  purpose  are  usually  in 
the  form  of  potpourris ;  they  begin  with  a  recitative,  followed  by 
various  themes,  and  end  in  variations." (i) 

In  closing  Guhr  explains  a  few  "seeming  impossibilities"  exe- 
cuted by  the  great  virtuoso,  and  rectifies  an  error  which  was  quite 
generally  made,  viz. :  that  people  thought  that  Paganini's  hand  was 
unusually  large :  "Paganini's  hand,"  says  he,  "is  anything  but  large, 
but  like  the  pianists  who  from  childhood  have  exercised  their  hands 
to  develop  reach,  he  learned  to  stretch  it  over  three  octaves." (2) 
And  the  German  violinist  cites  examples  of  this  marvellous  reach, 
which  enabled  Paganini  to  strike  four  Cs  in  octaves,  or  four  Ds, 
or  four  B  flats,  using  the  four  strings,  on  which  he  placed  the  first, 
second,  third  and  fourth  fingers. 

Resuming  his  biography  we  shall  see  how  the  public  received 
Paeanini  in  the  numerous  towns  which  he  visited  in  Austria,  Ger- 
many,  England  and  France. 


I  Footnote  continued  from  page  24) 

played  harmonics,  tlioy  were  no  longer  the  easy  trick  used  by  the  third  class 
violinists  to  hide  the  deficiencies  of  their  performances;  he  exhausted  them  to 
their  utmost  ran^o  and  introduced  difficulties  which  would  have  appall. -d  any- 
one but  him,  for  he  was  not  satisfied  with  simple  harmouifs  playfd  iti  the  usual 
way:  he  introduced  double  harmonics,  combinations  of  one  or  the  otli«-r  with 
natural  tones,  effects  by  picking  the  strings,  and  by  all  these  variations  he 
obtained  novel  effects  which  were  no  less  remarkable  as  discoveries,  than  for 
the  .skill  with  which  hf  cx.cuted  them."— (Revue  Musicale,  No.  27.  1,S30,  p.  73. 
rt.  Nov.  20,  1830,  and  December,  1829). 


<1)  Of  course  it  takes  much  practice  to  play  this  kind  of  <(.mpfisitlnn;  how- 
ever, the  study  is  not  nearly  as  difllcult  as  one  mi(,'ht  iniaKlu".  and  well  within 
the  possibilities  of  every  violinist.  Paganini  was  celebrat.<l  amnn;,'  proffsslunals 
and  the  general  public  for  his  playing  rm  the  G  string.  Was  this  deserved?  I 
leave  the  answer  to  my  rea/lers.  after  they  have  practiced  It  for  some  time;  for 
It  cannot  be  .hnled  that  I'aganini  .^-eeks  to  surprise  the  ear  with  apparent  dlfll- 
cultle.s,  which  after  analysis,  .an  be  played  by  any  fairly  good  v|..llnlHt  "  (Onhr, 
Iv'Art  de  Jouer  dii   violon  de  Paganini). 

(2)  Paganini  put  the  thumb  of  his  left  hand  In  Ih.-  middl.-  ..f  th-  n.-rk  of 
the  violin,  and,  thanks  to  his  gnat  str.-tch.  cmld  play  <  .pially  well  In  th.^  three 
first  positions  without  "shifting." 


26 


NICOLO   PAGAN  INI 


III. 

REAVING  Milan  the  first  of  the  month,  Paganini,  with 
Signora  Bianchi  and  his  son,  arrived  at  Vienna,  March 
1 6,  1828.  A  week  later,  on  the  23rd,  the  first  concert  was 
given  in  "Redoute  Hall,"  and  the  Viennese  were  in  a 
frenzy  of  enthusiasm  which  has  never  since  been  equalled. ^^^  The 
price  of  seats  was  five  to  ten  florins ;  the  receipts  rose  to  12,000  flor- 
ins (from  25,000  to  26,000  francs).  After  the  first  note  from  Paga- 
nini's  Guarnerio  the  frenzied  plaudits  of  the  crowd  never  ceased. 
Fetis  says  in  the  Revue  Musicale,  "he  played  his  first  concerto  in 
B  minor,  a  military  sonata  which  was  written  entirely  for  the  fourth 
string,  and  which  was  so  full  of  difficulties  that  it  seemed  to  require 
at  least  four  strings ;  also  a  larghetto,  followed  by  variations  on  *La 
Cenerentola'  rendered  on  a  single  string.  The  orchestra  went  wild 
with  the  audience,  and  overwhelmed  the  artist  with  enthusiastic 
demonstrations  of  all  kinds. "^2) 

The  Viennese  press  unanimously  ratified  the  opinion  of  the  pub- 
lic and  the  musicians. 

"What  we  have  heard  is  past  all  belief,  and  words  can  not  de- 
scribe it."  says  the  Musiker  Zeitung,  May  7 ;  "suffice  it  to  say  that 
his  fellow  artists  are  racking  their  brains  to  solve  the  mystery.  His 
is  a  sublime  majesty,  together  with  faultless  purity  of  tone;  his 
octave  passages  and  also  those  in  tenths  fly  like  arrows  from  the 
bow,  series  of  demi-semi-quavers,  of  which  one  pizzicato  is  imme- 
diately followed  by  another  coU'arco.  and  all  this  with  absolute  pre- 
cision and  nicety,  so  that  the  slightest  shading  is  not  lost  to  the 
listener;  strings  mounted  and  unmounted  without  interruptions  in 
the  most  difficult  and  brilliant  numbers.  Ordinarily  all  this  would 
seem  on  the  verge  of  charlatanism,  but  the  execution  is  so  inimitably 
beautiful  that  words  fail  and  we  listen  in  mute  delight." 

On  April  13th  the  second  concert  of  the  "Magician  of  the  South" 
was  given,  with  the  assistance  of  his  companion  Antonia  Bianchi. 
Three  hours  before  the  beginning  of  the  concert  the  Redoute  Hall 
was  crowded;  more  than  three  thousand  people  were  there,  and 
seats  sold  at   5   silver  florins.     All   the   members  of  the   imperial 


(1)  Kohut  loc.  cit. 

(2)  Revue  Musicale,   May,    1828,    p.    354,    Viennese   Letters. 


I'AdANINI   KNXOKKIJ    Al'   TIIK   CI.(^SK  OK   A   CONCKRT 
(•'A  I'avjanini  recital  in  1804,"  from  the  pMintinK  by  Gattt.) 


A  BIOGRAPHY 


27 


family  who  were  at  the  capital  attended,  which  made  a  brilliant 
assemblage. 

On  May  nth  Paganini  was  giving  his  sixth  concert.  "We  hear 
from  Vienna  (from  Fetis'  Revue)  that  Paganini  is  creating  the 
wildest  enthusiasm  and  has  become  the  idol  of  the  fashionable 
world,  having,  says  the  'Austrian  Observer,'  temporarily  dethroned 
the  giraffe  recently  sent  by  the  Pasha  of  Egypt,  and  which  hereto- 
fore had  been  the  object  of  much  attention.  All  the  society  lead- 
ers are  vieing  with  each  other  for  the  honor  of  having  him  grace 
their  entertainments  with  his  presence.  So  far  as  is  known  only 
Prince  Metternich  has  been  favored.  Be  that  as  it  may,  he  gave 
his  sixth  concert  on  the  eleventh  of  May,  which  was  to  be  the 
last,  and  the  program  was  as  follows:  i.  Overture  from  Lodoiska, 
by  Cherubini;  2.  Concerto  by  Rode,  consisting  of  an  Allegro 
Maestoso,  an  Adagio  Cantabile  in  double  chords,  specially  com- 
posed for  this  concert,  and  interj^olated  by  the  artist,  and 
a  Polacca  played  by  Paganiiii ;  3.  Last  air  from  "I'Ultimo 
giorno  di  Pompeia,"  sung  by  Signora  Bianchi ;  4.  Sonata  on 
"Moses'  Prayer"  (by  request)  played  on  the  fourth  string  by 
Paganini;  5.  Variations  on  a  theme  from  "Armide,"  by  Rossini, 
sung  by  Signora  Bianchi ;  6.  Capriccio  on  the  theme  "La  ci 
darcm  la  mano,"  composed  for  violin,  ami  played  by  Paganini. 
This  concert,  which  was  to  be  a  matinee,  had  drawn  a  big  crowd 
which,  as  soon  as  the  doors  were  opened,  filled  every  seat  two  hours 
before  the  beginning  of  the  concert.  Only  a  limited  number  of 
seats  had  been  reserved  for  Her  Imperial  Majesty,  the  Arch-Dukes 
and  Duchesses  and  other  members  of  the  Court.  The  artist  re- 
newed the  triumphs  of  former  occasions.  It  was  understood  that 
he  would  leave  for  Munich."  ^^^ 

The  enthusiasm  of  the  amateurs  spread  like  wild-fire.  \'iennese 
fashions  were  all  "a  la  Paganini."  In  the  restaurants,  when  olTer- 
ing  what  was  best  and  most  expensive,  the  waiters  asked  the 
patrons  if  they  wished  to  dine  a  la  Pagam'ni ;  there  were  chops  a 
la  Paganini ;  rolls  a  la  Paganini,  .shaped  like  a  violin ;  women  wore 
ribbons,  sashes,  buttons  a  la  Paganini;  men  smoked  pipes  and 
cigars  a  la  Paganini ;  snufT  was  taken  from  snuff-boxes  a  la 
Paganini ;  people  played  on  billiard  tables  a  la  Paganini,  etc.,  etc. 

Sonnets  and  acrostics  to  Nicolo  Paganini  were  written  by  Italian 
and  German  admirers,  and  Friedrich  August  Kanne  wrote  a  poem 

n)   Revue  Musicale.  .lime  1S28,   p.  452. 


28 


NICOLO   PAGANINI 


consisting  of  twelve  stanzas  in  his  honor.  The  poet  Castelli  wrote 
his  Paganiniana,  a  dialogue  on  the  "god  of  the  violin."  He  invaded 
even  the  realm  of  parody,  and  the  "Theater  an  der  Wien"  on  May 
22,  gave  "The  false  artist,  or  the  concerto  on  the  G  string,"  a 
farce  in  two  acts,  by  Meisel,  music  by  Kapellmeister  Glaser. 

Finally  Paganini  was  made  "Kammervirtuos"  by  the  Emperor, 
and  the  city  of  Vienna  presented  him  with  a  medal  engraved 
by  Joseph  Lang,  which  bore  this  inscription:  VIENNA, 
MDCCCXXVIII;  the  other  side  shows  the  master's  violin  and 
bow,  surrounded  by  a  wreath  of  oak  leaves  resting  upon  a  sheet 
of  music,  bearing  the  first  ten  bars  of  "La  Clochette."  There  is 
also  an  inscription  reading:  "Perituris  sonis  non  peritura  gloria." 
Up  to  the  24th  of  July  Paganini  was  heard  no  less  than  twenty 
times  at  Vienna. (i)  His  programs  consisted  exclusively  of  his  own 
compositions ;  those  which  were  most  applauded  and  oftenest  re- 
peated were  the  variations  on  "Le  Streghe,"  on  "Moses'  Prayer,"  on 
"Nel  cor  piu  non  mi  sento"  and  the  rondo  from  "la  Clochette." 
"None  of  the  Viennese  violinists,  Mayseder,  Janka,  Leon  de  Saint- 
Lubin,  Strebinger,  Bohm,  etc.,  could  compare  with  him,"  says 
Kohut ;  "only  one  or  two  stars  like  Treichler,  of  the  Imperial  Opera, 
tried  to  imitate  his  methods."  On  Dec.  26th  he  gave  a  concert  "a  la 
Paganini"  with  great  success. 

The  virtuoso's  health  was  never  robust,  and  he  had  to  put  him- 
self under  the  care  of  the  celebrated  military  surgeon  Marenzeller, 
who  gave  him  the  Hahnemann  homeopathic  treatment  and  advised 
him  to  take  the  baths  at  Carlsbad.  Paganini  left  Vienna  for  Bo- 
hemia during  the  first  part  of  August. 

On  returning  to  Vienna  towards  the  end  of  November,  after  his 
sojourn  in  Bohemia,  Paganini,  "loaded  with  laurels  and  tlorins" 
(according  to  Kohut),  repaired  to  Prague,  where  he  had  been  in- 
vited to  come.  In  three  weeks,  on  the  ist,  4th,  9th,  13th,  i6th  and  20th 
of  December,  he  gave  a  series  of  six  concerts.  His  reception  in 
this  musical  city,  which  takes  just  pride  in  the  saying  with  which 
Mozart  distinguished  it:  "The  people  of  Prague  understood  me," 
was  no  less  enthusiastic  than  at  Vienna.  However,  Paganini  there 
met  with  severe  attacks  from  the  critics,  who  compared  his  playing 
with  that  of  the  classical  masters,  and  adversely  criticised  him  for 


(1)  On  June  12th,  a  concert  wa.s  given  at  the  KJlrnthnerthortheater  for  the 
benefit  of  Signora  Bianchl,  who  had  sung  at  all  the  preceding  ones.  The  re- 
ceipts were  3,000  florins.     She  also  sang  on  June  24th,  27th  and  30th. 


A  BIOGRAPHY  29 


often  using  startling  sounds,  sometimes  exaggerated  and  harsh; 
they  also  called  his  cadenzas  old-fashioned  and  denounced  his  play- 
ing on  the  G  string  as  charlatanism,  and  his  frequent  use  of  har- 
monics as  in  bad  taste.  Among  Paganini's  most  bitter  adversaries 
was  the  correspondent  of  the  "Hamburger  Boersenhalle,"  who 
wrote  to  his  paper:  "I  heard  one  of  his  concerts,  but  will  never  go 
there  again.  He  has  a  great  agility  of  the  left  hand,  which  can  be 
acquired  by  practice,  without  talent  or  genius,  or  even  brains  and 
intelligence — it  is  nothing  but  mechanical  dexterity.  What  he 
incessantly  repeats  is  an  indescribable  combination  of  sounds  on 
the  bridge  which  is  in  no  sense  legitimate,  but  resembles  the  chirp- 
ing of  sparrows,  and  at  the  end  of  each  variation,  a  quick  pizzicato 
of  six  notes,  with  the  left  hand.  His  bowing  is  execrable.  Not  a 
single  violinist  here  felt  like  breaking  his  violin,  as  is  said  to  have 
happened  in  Vienna,  but  they  are  ridiculing  him  and  the  Viennese. 
Of  course  there  are  people  here  also  who  are  dazzled  by  his  reputa- 
tion and  imagine  his  playing  must  be  fine;  no  doubt  some  senti- 
mental lady  wept,  but  as  no  one  besides  her  melted  in  tears,  there 
is  nothing  to  corroborate  the  tale." 

This  criticism  made  no  impression  on  the  general  public.  In 
spite  of  the  fivefold  prices  of  seats,  everybody  crowded  to  Paga- 
nini's concerts.  The  la*st,  on  Dec.  20th,  1828,  was  announced  as 
follows  by  a  Prague  newspaper : 

"The  Chevalier  Paganini,  Virtuoso  to  his  Majesty  the  Eni])cror 
of  Austria,  on  Saturday,  Dec.  20th,  by  universal  recjuest,  will  have 
the  honor  to  give  another  concert,  which  will  be  his  last,  and  in 
which  will  be  performed  among  other  things,  'The  Tempest,'  a 
dramatic  sonata  for  orchestra,  with  soli  and  variations  for  violin, 
by  Paganini,  on  the  fourth  string:  i.  The  coming  of  the  storm; 
2.  Rising  of  the  tempest;  3.  Prayer;  4.  The  fury  of  the  sea;  5. 
The  hurricane;  6.  The  height  of  the  storm;  7.  Calm  after  tlu- 
storm;  8.  General  rejoicing."(i> 

On  the  same  day  Prof.  Miillcr  wrote  in  the  "Prague  Unterhal- 
tungsblattcr"  : 

"Anyone  who  can  comj^arc  sounds  of  such  remarkable  purity 
as  Paganini's,  to  chirping  of  sparrows,  doubtless  considers  ce-ha. 
ee-ha,  the  sweetest  harmony."  Professor  Afax  Julius  Schottky,  taking 
advantage  of  tlie  artist's  prolonged  .stay  at   Prague,  gathered  ma- 


(1)  Revue  Mu.slcale.  June  1829,  p.  594-595. 


30 


NICOLO  PAGANINI 


terial  for  his  celebrated  biography  of  the  king  of  the  violin,  a 
bulky  volume  which  appeared  in  1830.  Paganini  remained  in  Bo- 
hemia longer  than  was  first  intended.  An  unsuccessful  operation  had 
caused  an  injury  to  his  lower  jaw,  and  he  was  obliged  to  undergo 
treatment  at  Prague;  the  extraction  of  his  lower  teeth  was  deemed 
necessary,  and  was  followed  by  an  inflammation  of  the  larynx. 
About  Jan.  15th,  1829,  Paganini  was  finally  able  to  leave  Prague. 
The  six  concerts  which  he  had  given  there,  netted  him  3,650  florins. 

He  went  first  to  the  kingdom  of  Saxony  and  played  at  Dresden, 
Jan.  23rd.  with  a  success  which  can  be  estimated  at  1,250  thalers 
(about  4,700  francs)  and  was  presented  with  a  gold  snuflf  box  by 
the  King  of  Saxony. 

On  Feb.  12th  he  was  in  Leipzig,  where  he  was  to  play  on  the 
i6th;  however,  owing  to  difliculties  of  a  financial  nature  which 
arose,  the  concert  could  not  take  place.  Paganini  demanded  that 
the  orchestra  be  reduced  by  half,  and  would  not  accept  the  singer 
provided  by  the  management ;  the  price  of  seats  having  been  tripled, 
he  nevertheless  refused  to  comply  with  a  very  praiseworthy  custom, 
which  prevailed  for  the  benefit  of  the  orchestra,  their  pay  being 
doubled  whenever  the  ordinary  price  for  seats  was  raised.  As  he 
could  obtain  no  exception  to  this  rule,  Paganini  left  Leipzig  with 
the  reputation  of  being  avaricious  and  soon  after  arrived  at  Berlin. 

Always  in  ill  health,  and  suffering  from  the  effects  of  the  Ger- 
man climate  besides,  he,  although  having  arrived  on  Feb.  i8th, 
did  not  give  his  first  concert  until  March  4th.  This  was  followed 
by  four  others  in  one  month,  besides  concerts  and  "demi-concerts" 
at  the  Royal  Opera. 

After  his  first  appearance,  at  the  Schauspiclhaus,  Paganini  over- 
came all  prejudice  against  himself  in  Berlin.  When  he  had  barely 
finished  the  first  movement  of  a  concerto,  composed  by  himself,  the 
audience  gave  him  a  most  enthusiastic  ovation. 

"Paganini  accomplishes  the  incredible,"  writes  Ludwig  Rellstab 
in  the  Vossische  Zeiting.  "He  does  not  overcome  difficulties — 
they  do  not  exist  for  him.  He  does  not  surpass  other  violinists ;  he 
has  created  an  entirely  new  instrument  which  he  alone  masters ; 
double  chords  are  child's-play  to  him,  he  uses  them  to  rest  himself ; 
to  play  two  or  three  parts  at  a  time  is  another  matter.  Playing 
pieces  for  two  parts,  pizzicato,  at  the  same  time  carrying  a  melody 
with  the  bow — that  is  one  of  the  little  wonders  that  this  grand- 


(') 


(J) 


TWO    CARICATURES    OF    PAGANISM 
(I.  Lithograph  by  Mantoux.)  (.•.  Lithograph  by  (irnnvilli-,  from  the  icrra-cotia 

figure-  by  Oantan.) 


A  BIOGRAPHY 


31 


master  of  'Streghe'  (sorcery)  shows  us.  What  are  mere  words? 
Listen !  Listen !  That  is  the  only  answer  to  this  riddle.  Come, 
open  your  ears,  and  pay  attention,  for  Paganini  solves  and  creates 
difficulties  which  no  one  has  ever  dared  to  undertake.  His  phenome- 
nal triumphs,  such  as  no  artist  has  ever  yet  met  with,  showed  to  the 
incomparable  virtuoso  that  the  public  tried,  at  least  in  a  measure, 
to  show  their  appreciation  of  his  achievements." 

At  the  second  concert,  on  March  13th,  when  no  less  than  2,000 
seats  were  sold  at  two  thalers,  the  audience  was  as  enthusiastic  as 
at  the  first. 

In  April,  the  "Magician  of  the  South"  gave  two  charity  concerts, 
on  the  6th  and  29th,  at  the  Opera  House,  half  the  receipts  going  to 
the  victims  of  the  floods  in  Prussia.  He  played  a  concerto  by  Rode, 
and  had  hardly  begun  when  the  E  string  of  his  violin  broke ;  he 
continued  playing  on  the  three  others  without  the  slightest  sign  of 
discomfiture.  At  the  eighth  concert,  he  played  "Le  Streghe"  and 
"Heil  dir  im  Siegerkranz"  fCod  save  the  King),  on  which  he  had 
composed  variations  while  at  Berlin. 

As  at  Vienna,  Paganini  inspired  the  poets ;  in  March  a  cer- 
tain Karl  Holtei  published  a  poem  in  his  honor.  Inirthermorc. 
he  had  the  distinction  of  being  the  object  of  various  witticisms  by 
the  humorist  Saphir,  who,  indignant  at  not  having  received  compli- 
mentary tickets  for  Paganini's  concerts,  ironically  com])lain<.(l  about 
this  in  an  article  in  the  "Schnellpost":  "Paganini.  two  dollars  and 
I,"  at  the  conclusion  of  which  he  said:  "We  arc  both  ri};ht.  he  on 
a  single  string  (Saitc)  and  I  on  several  pages  (Seitcn)." 

(This  word-play  cannot  be  translated. ) 

From  Berlin,  Paganini  left,  towards  the  niicMle  of  May,  for 
Warsaw;  in  passing  through  Frankfort-on-the-Odcr,  he  gave  a 
concert  there,  "a  great  deal  better  rendered  than  was  to  be  ex- 
pected." says  the  Gazette  musicale,  "as  the  artist  arrived  the  night 
before  at  eleven  o'clock.  He  excited  the  greatest  enthusiasm. "<*> 
At   I'>ankff)rt    Pajranini   was  the  guest  of  funeral   /.i<lyn^ki's  wife. 

Suffering  physically,  he  reached  the  Polish  capital  on  Friday, 
May  22nd.  and  on  the  following  day  gave  his  first  concert,  for 
which  the  receipts  were  1,833  Prussian  thalers,  f about  6,900  francs). 
Chopin  was  present.  At  Warsaw  Paganini  again  met  his  former 
rival  of  1818.  T,ipinski.     This  time,  the  struggle  lacked  the  courtesy 


(1)  Revue  Musicale,  .June  1829.  p.  430.  Berlin  letter.  May  19th. 


32  NICOLO  PAGANINI 


which  had  marked  it  in  Turin;  Lipinski  was  openly  put  up  against 
Paganini ;  the  Pole  and  the  Genoese  each  had  his  followers,  and 
the  rivalry  finally  resulted  in  an  open  broil. (i) 

After  his  last  concert,  July  14th,  a  banquet  was  given  on  the 
19th,  at  the  end  of  which  Eisner,  the  director  of  the  Conservatory, 
presented  him  with  a  gold  snufif  box  in  the  name  of  a  number  of 
amateurs ;  the  box  bore  the  following  inscription :  "To  Chevalier 
Paganini,  from  admirers  of  his  talent,  July  19th,  1829." 

Negotiations  were  begun  with  Paganini  to  extend  his  tour  to 
Russia,  but  his  health  absolutely  forbade  his  complying  with  the 
urgent  requests  to  visit  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow.  He  intended 
rather  to  visit  the  springs  at  Ems,  by  way  of  Breslau  and  Berlin. 
He  returned  once  more  to  Germany,  where  he  traveled  for  two 
months  before  settling  in  Frankfort-on-the-Main  for  a  more  pro- 
tracted stay.  Towards  the  end  of  July,  we  find  him  at  Breslau, 
where  he  writes  under  date  of  July  31st  to  the  Maestro  Onorio 
De-Vito,  at  Naples,  that  he  "has  just  come  back  from  Warsaw 
where  he  was  called  for  the  coronation  of  Emperor  Nicholas  as 
King  of  Poland,  and  where  he  gave  six  concerts.  He  is  returning  to 
Berlin,  having  promised  the  public  to  do  so." (2) 

He  arrived  about  the  15th  of  August  and  on  that  day  wrote  a 
letter  to  Giacomo  Trivelli,  recommending  one  of  his  pupils,  Gaetano 
Ciandelli,  a  very  talented  'cellist.  Ten  days  later  the  first  of  his  four 
concerts  was  given  at  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  for  which  he  received 
two-thirds  of  the  receipts,  which  were  9,500  florins.  In  September 
he  was  at  Darmstadt,  Mainz  and  Mannheim. 

In  the  three  months  following,  Paganini  toured  southern  Ger- 
many, visiting  successively  more  than  twenty  cities :  Leipzig,  Halle, 
Magdeburg,  Halberstad,  Dessau,  Erfurt,  Weimar,  Gotha,  Wurz- 
burg,  Rudolstadt,  Coburg,  Bamberg,  Nuremberg,  Regensburg,  Mu- 
nich, Augsburg,   Stuttgart,   Mannheim,   Mainz  and  DiJsseldorf.(3) 

(1)  Someone  had  asked  Paganini  who  was  the  first  and  foremost  violinist 
of  his  time,  and  the  artist,  after  a  moment's  reflection,  replied:  "The  first — I 
really  cannot  say,  but  the  second  Is  undoubtedly  Lipinski." 

(2)  Taken  from   an  autograph  letter,  furnished  by  M.   Charnvay. 

(3)  A  delightful  letter  from  Paganini  to  Donizetti  is  dated  Leipzig,  Oct. 
8th.  "AchiUe,  my  darling-  Achille,"  he  writes,  "is  all  my  delight;  he  grows 
In  beauty  and  talent;  he  speaks  German  fluently  and  serves  as  my  interpreter. 
He  loves  me  dearly,  and  I  simply  adore  him.  To-morrow  I  give  my  second 
concert  at  the  theatre  in  this  city;  the  third  will  be  next  Monday.  I  shall 
leave  the  day  after  to  give  a  concert  at  the  neighboring  town,  Halle,  then 
at  Magdeburg,  Weimar,  Erfurt,  Nuremberg,  Stuttgart,  Carlsruhe,  Mannheim — " 
In  the  letter  he  mentions  several  persons,  and  among  others  Count  Dietrich- 
stein.     (Outline  of  letter  furnished  by  M.  Charavay). 


A  BIOGRAPHY  33 


His  appearance  at  Leipzig  was  the  subject  of  a  long  article  in 
the  "Allgemeine  Musikalische  Zeitung" :  "Paganini  is  here,"  says 
one  of  the  editors,  "and  has  given  us  the  pleasure  of  three  concerts 
at  the  theatre."  He  goes  on  to  review  Paganini's  life  from  his 
own  accounts  and  those  of  his  manager,  Lieutenant  Couriol,  en- 
deavoring to  show  that  the  Italian  virtuoso's  playing  was  not  dia- 
bolical in  the  least,  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  he  was  very  human. 
On  Oct.  9th,  1 2th  and  21st,  Paganini  was  heard  at  Leipzig.  Among 
other  things  he  played  his  Sonata  Militaire  on  the  G  string,  his 
concerto  in  B-flat  minor,  a  sonata  by  Rode,  the  variations  on  Moses' 
Prayer,  and  the  "La  ci  darem,"  from  Don  Juan,  which  were  most  ap- 
preciated by  the  amateurs.  At  Weimar,  on  the  31st  of  the  same  month, 
he  played  at  the  Court  Theatre,  assisted  by  Hiimmel ;  at  Nurem- 
berg, his  two  concerts,  on  the  9th  and  12th  respectively,  created 
great  enthusiasm,  (his  variations  on  the  Neapolitan  song,  "Oh! 
mamma" (1)  and  also  on  Le  Streghe  met  with  the  most  success). 
The  editor  of  the  Allgemeine  notes  with  some  pride  that  Paga- 
nini expressed  himself  pleased  with  the  work  of  the  orchestra  at 
the  theatre  (he  who  was  so  very  particular  in  this  respect),  and 
also  at  the  three  entertainments  which  he  gave  at  Munich  on  Nov. 
17th  and  25th. 

Before  leaving  the  Bavarian  capital,  on  the  27th,  the  queen  in- 
vited him  to  the  castle  at  Tegernsce.  "The  moment  the  concert 
was  to  begin  there  was  a  great  tumult  outside,  and  the  queen  in- 
quired as  to  the  cause  of  the  uproar.  She  was  informed  that  about 
sixty  peasants  from  the  environs,  having  heard  of  the  arrival  of 
the  celebrated  Italian  violinist,  had  come  in  the  hope  of  hearing 
him  and  now  demanded  that  the  windows  be  left  ojicn  so  tli.it 
they  could  have  the  benefit  of  his  playing.  The  good  queen,  al- 
ways ready  to  please  them,  did  more  than  grant  their  request,  for 
she  gave  orders  to  admit  them  to  the  concert-hall,  where  they  were 
noticeable  not  only  for  the  judgment  which  they  showed  in  ap- 
plauding, but  by  their  genteel  behavior. "(- ) 

Leaving  Munich,  where  his  receipts  amounted  to  5,500  llorins, 
on  the  27th,  Paganini  came  to  Augsburg  the  next  day.  On  Dec. 
3rd  and  7th  he  played  at  Stuttgart,  where  be  received  a  picMut 
of  a  hundred  louis  d'or  from  the  King  of  Wurtcmbnrg.  After  a 
la.st  stop  at  Karlsruhe  he  returned  to  Frankfort  toward  the  middle 

(1)  These  are  the  varlatlonH  on   the  Carnlvfil   of  Venice. 

(2)  Revue  Mu.ilcale,  Jan.   1830,  p.  551-552. 


34 


NICOLO   PAGANINI 


of  December.  From  the  i8th  on  he  was  heard  at  the  Museum,  of 
which  he  was  made  a  honorary  member;  however,  he  did  not  play 
before  the  general  public  until  much  later,  if  we  can  rely  on  the 
authenticity  of  a  notice  addressed  to  the  musical  journal  of  Leip- 
zig-(/) 

Still  he  appeared  at  the  theatre  shortly  after,  the  orchestra  be- 
ing conducted  by  Guhr,  the  careful  observer  who  dissected  the 
master's  playing  so  minutely  during  his  long  stay  on  the  banks 
of  the  Main;(2)  he  made  this  city  his  headquarters  in  Germany, 
for  his  campaign  in  1830,  before  deciding  to  cross  over  into 
France. 

All  the  papers  were  full  of  him.  It  is  said  that  after  his  first 
departure  from  Frankfort,  that  is,  in  less  than  three  months,  he  had 
made  more  than  3,000  florins,  and  had  deposited  44,000  Prussian 
thalers  in  an  English  bank.  "He  is  said  to  be  after  the  money," 
says  the  Revue  Musicale,  "for  which  he  can  easily  be  forgiven, 
when  it  is  remembered  that  he  is  amassing  a  fortune  for  a  son  four 
years  of  age,  whom  he  seems  to  love  devotedly." (^) 

Through  the  illness  of  Achille,  Paganini  was  detained  at  Frank- 
fort during  the  winter  of  1829  to  1830,  and  busied  himself  with 
writing,  among  other  things  a  composition  "in  which  he  used  themes 
by  Spohr,  and  which  he  intended  to  play  in  Paris  only,"  says  the 
Revue  Musicale.  On  Feb.  14th,  he  began  a  series  of  concerts,  be- 
fore going  on  his  journey;  the  last  of  these  was  given  on  April 
26th.  According  to  the  Revue  Musicale  this  concert  drew  only  a 
small  audience,  and  he  realized  only  600  florins  as  compared  to  an 
average  receipt  of  3,000  at  previous  concerts.  At  this  time  it  was 
repeatedly  reported  that  he  would  soon  leave  for  Holland,  where 
he  was  to  stay  until  the  end  of  the  year,  and  go  to  Paris  about  the 
middle  of  December,  remaining  there   four  months.     The  papers 


(1)  Allg.  Musik.  Zeit.,  Jan.   27.  1830.   col.   57. 

(2)  According  to  Conestabile,  Paganini  netted  8,000  florins  at  Frankfort. 
It  mu.st  be  understood  that  this  figure  includes  the  concerts  of  1829  and  1830, 
which  we  will  mention  later. 

(3)  Revue  Musicale,  Jan.  1830,  p.  551.  According  to  Harrys,  Paganini 
had  deposited,  In  the  summer  of  1830,  the  sum  of  169,000  fTorins  in  a  Viennese 
bank.  His  last  concerts  (in  Northern  Germany)  had  brought  him  from  9,000  to 
10,000  thalers  (37,000  francs).  The  report  that  he  had  deposited  40,000  ducats 
in  London,  was  false.  From  Paganini's  own  statement  his  receipts  in  1828 
had  been  as  follows:  11,500  florins  at  Milan,  12,000  at  Bologna,  10,000  at 
Genoa,  30,000  at  Vienna,  and  5,300  at  Prague,  making  a  total  of  68.300  florins 
or  about  140,000  francs. 


A  BIOGRAPHY 


35 


stated  that  he  had  gone  by  way  of  Northern  Germany,  where  he 
visited  the  small  principalities  and  the  "free"  cities. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  after  leaving  Cologne  and  Dusseldorf,  he 
was  in  Cassel  during  May,  having  been  invited  by  Spohr.  The 
result  of  the  first  concert,  however,  did  not  seem  to  satisfy  him. 
for  he  wrote  Spohr  a  letter  in  Italian  on  the  26th,  the  contents  of 
which  were  as  follows :  "The  proceeds  of  the  concert  yesterday," 
he  told  his  colleague,  "did  not  amount  to  even  half  of  the  1,500 
thalcrs  which  had  been  guaranteed  to  him  in  the  letter  of  invita- 
tion, which  he  had  received  while  at  Frankfort.  He  asks  him, 
therefore,  to  cancel  the  second  concert  on  Sunday,  as  it  seems  that 
foreign  artists  are  little  regarded  there.  He  would  very  much  like 
to  have  a  souvenir  of  .S.  A.  R.,  if  she  would  honor  him  .so  far,  and 
he  will  always  be  indebted  to  Spohr  for  giving  him  the  pleasure 
of  letting  his  violin  be  heard  at  Cassel."  (^  ) 

Nevertheless  the  second  concert  took  place,  on  the  30th,  as  ap- 
pears in  an  abstract  from  Spohr's  Autobiography : 

"In  June,  1830,  Paganini  came  to  Cassel  and  gave  two  concerts 
at  the  theatre,  which  were  of  the  highest  interest  to  me.  His  left 
hand  work,  as  well  as  his  intonation,  are  marvellous  in  my  estima- 
tion. In  his  compositions  as  well  as  in  his  playing,  however,  I 
found  a  certain  mixture  of  childlike  lack  of  taste  and  the  stamp  of 
genius,  so  that  the  total  impression,  after  hearing  him  repeatedly, 
did  not  entirely  satisfy  me.  He  was  there  at  the  time  of  the  Pente- 
cost holidays,  and  I  invited  him  to  a  luncheon  on  the  second  day, 
at  Wilhelmshoehc;  he  was  very  gay  and  positively  merry. "(2) 

On  June  3rd  anrl  6th  he  appeared  at  the  Hoftlicatcr  at  Han- 
over. 

On  the  13th  he  arrived  at  Hamburg  and  gave  two  or  three  con- 
certs there,  the  first  being  on  the  25th,  and  the  second  on  the  28th; 
his  variations  on  Moses'  Prayer  and  the  Neapolitan  song  "Oh ! 
mammal"  were  mo.st  applauded.  The  Grand  Duke  of  Oldenburg 
was  present.  On  the  27th  Paganini  assisted  at  the  St.  Peter's 
church  at  the  religious  festivals  at  .Augsburg. (•' )  About  this  time 
he  visited  I'.remen,  where  the  i)eople  crowded  to  the  .*^chauspiclhau>. 
for  the  two  concerts  he  gave  in  this  city. 

(1)  Spohr.  Selbstblographle.  II,   p.  180. 

(2)  Synopsis  of  an  autogrraph  letter  fumlshed  by  M.  Charavny. 
(8)   Allg.  Muslk.  Zelt.,  Nov.   10th.   1830.  col.   IZH-IZO. 


36  NICOLO   PAGANINI 


After  this  tour  in  Northern  Germany,  Paganini  returned  to 
Frankfort  for  a  rest,  where  he  again  joined  his  dear  little  Achillino, 
whom  he  had  left  for  two  or  three  months  in  the  care  of  his  land- 
lady. It  may  have  been  at  this  time,  rather  than  the  preceding  year, 
that  he  appeared  at  Karlsruhe. 

The  Revue  Musicale  of  Aug.  14th  tells  of  his  visiting  "lately 
at  the  different  therm.al  springs  in  the  principality  of  Nassau,  and 
the  Grand-Duchy  of  Baden.  He  was  there  as  a  patient  and  did  not 
let  himself  be  heard.  Nevertheless,  he  excited  so  much  curiosity 
that  in  Ems  a  travelling  artist,  who  gave  a  concert,  and  announced 
that  Paganini  would  assist,  had  excellent  box-office  results." 

Several  months  later  he  left  Frankfort  and  started  for  France. 
Several  times  a  rumor  of  his  being  in  Paris  incognito  had  been 
spread,  and  malevolent  stories  were  added  to  the  wonderful  ad- 
ventures told  with  Paganini  as  the  hero;  a  letter  from  one  of  his 
countrymen,  Fontano  Pino,  urging  him  to  put  an  end  to  these  ab- 
surdities, which  would  surely  cause  trouble  for  him,  prompted  him 
to  leave  at  once  for  Paris. 

He  stopped  only  once  on  the  way,  long  enough  to  give  two 
concerts  at  the  theatre  in  Strassburg,  Feb.  14th  and  17th,  1831. 

On  Saturday  the  19th  he  finally  arrived  in  Paris,  and  that  same 
evening  he  went  to  the  "Italiens"  to  "rapturously  applaud  Mme. 
Malibran's  wonderful  art"  in  Othello. (i) 


(1)    Revue  Musicale,  Feb.   26th,  1831. 


A  BIOGRAPHY  ^y 


IV. 

CARCELY  six  months  after  the  Revohition  whicli  had 
put  Louis  Phillippe  on  the  throne,  Paganini  arrived  in 
Paris,  on  the  day  following  the  sacking  of  Saint-Germain 
I'Auxerrois  and  the  Archbishopric.  Politics  were  very 
much  unsettled,  and  inspired  violent  and  lengthy  tirades  in  the  press. 
The  literary  and  artistic  world  was  beginning  to  boil  with  the  ro- 
mantic fever;  "Notre-Dame  de  Paris"  was  to  come  out  on  March 
15th;  and  on  the  9th  Paganini  gave  his  first  concert. 

Previously,  on  March  2nd,  he  was  to  be  presented  at  the  court 
in  the  Palais-Royal,  which  was  occupied  by  the  citizen-king.  "Sig- 
ner Paganini,"  says  the  Courrier  des  Theatres  of  the  3rd,  "had 
been  invited  by  M.  Paer  to  play  before  the  king  yesterday ;  a  sudden 
indisposition  deprived  the  virtuoso  of  this  honor."  On  the  day  of 
the  audience  Paganini  had  asked  his  former  teacher  to  make  his 
excuses  to  the  king,  as  "his  cough  prevented  him,  just  then,  from 
appearing  before  his  majesty."(^ ) 

The  concert  on  Wednesday,  March  9th,  was  his  first  appearance 
before  the  Parisians.  After  having  spent  several  days  looking  for 
a  hall  (he  had  not  yet  chosen  on  the  5th),  he  found  he  could  have 
the  "Opera,"  of  which  Dr.  \'eron  had  just  taken  charge  (March 
1st). 

"The  conditions,"  says  Boerne,  "were  two  concerts  a  week, 
on  Wednesdays  and  Sundays ;  Paganini  was  to  receive  two-thirds 
of  the  receipts  for  the  Wednesday  concerts  and,  aside  from  a  sum 
of  3,000  francs,  the  whole  of  the  Sunday  receipts." 

In  the  meantime  the  artist  had  attended  several  performances  at 
the  "Oj)era  des  Italiens"  and  the  Conservatory  concert.  I'eh.  27th.  at 
which  he  was  said  to  have  been  perfectly  astounded  (among  other 
things  the  C  minor  symphony  of  Beethoven  had  been  played). 
I-'inally,  on  tlie  8th  the  Cowricr  des  Theatres  announced :  "To- 
morrow the  celebrated  Paganini  will  be  heard.  There  will  be  a 
special  program  in  honor  of  the  occasion.  A  ballet  will  conclude 
the  performance,  and  it  will  be  a  gala  night  in  every  way." 

It  was  an  evening  never  to  be  forgotten  in  the  annals  of  the 
Royal  Academy  of  Music.  The  hall  was  crowded  with  celebrities 
and  notables  of  all  kinds;  the  court,  the  aristocracy,  politics,  litcra- 

(1)  Contents  of  autograph  letter,  fumlahed  by  M.  Charavay.  March  7lh. 
1881;   to   Paer. 


38 


NICOLO   PAGANINI 


ture  and  fine  arts  were  all  represented.    The  wild  enthusiasm  of  the 

assemblage  might  be  estimated  by  the  receipts,  which  amounted  to 
19,069  francs. 

"The  violin  in  Paganini's  hands,"  says  Fetis,  "is  no  longer  the 
instrument  of  Tartini  or  Viotti,  it  is  something  widely  different, 
a  thing  apart.  A  body  specially  suited  for  this  marvellous  playing 
is  not  sufficient  to  obtain  such  results;  it  requires  earnest,  deep  and 
persevering  study;  a  happy  instinct  in  solving  the  problems  of  his 
art  and  his  indomitable  will,  help  him  to  surmount  all  obstacles." (i) 

Castil-Blaze  (XXX  to  the  readers  of  the  Journal  des  Debats) 
reported  as  follows,  on  the  third  concert : 

"Paganini  is  doubtless  very  learned;  his  compositions,  his  dis- 
coveries, which  are  the  result  of  thought  seemingly  beyond  the 
flight  of  the  hum.an  mind,  prove  it.  He  has  paid  homage  to  our 
musical  world  by  writing  a  concerto  especially  for  France,  and 
which  is  not  to  be  produced  anywhere  except  in  Paris.  It  seems 
another  evidence  of  his  wonderful  intuition  which  led  him  to  feel 
that  our  taste  runs  decidedly  to  noble  music,  elegant,  passionate  and 
graceful,  to  compositions  treated  with  all  the  vigor  of  coloring  that 
harmony  can  give,  and  all  the  charm  of  dreamy,  playful,  and  heroic 
moods  in  turn,  and  the  wildest  daring  of  which  melody  is  capable. 
This  concerto,  in  D  minor,  has  a  m.ost  original  form  and  includes 
some  very  picturesque  effects.  The  first  violin,  in  the  highest  regis- 
ter, replies  to  the  trombones,  which  roar  in  hollow  tones ;  it  takes 
up  the  strain  where  the  trumpets  have  just  left  it  and  renders  it 
in  harmonics,  in  such  a  way  that  it  seems  as  though  the  same  in- 
strument were  still  playing;  the  sound  is  identical.  The  skill,  the 
magic  of  Paganini's  playing  astonishes  me  more  every  day." (2) 

On  the  first  night  Paganini  had  played  his  concerto  in  E  minor; 
at  the  second  concert  (Sunday,  March  13th),  he  played  a  concerto 
which  he  had  reserved  for  the  Parisians :  "Lo  voglio  sverginare  a 
Parigi,"  he  said.  On  the  same  evening  he  played  "La  Clochette" 
and  the  variations  on  Moses'  Prayer.  Nourrit,  Levasseur,  Dabadie 
and  Mile.  Dorus  appeared  with  him.  Fetis  asserted  that  Baillot 
"puts  more  passion,  more  delicate  sentiment  into  an  adagio  by  Mo- 
zart or  Beethoven,  than  Paganini  has  in  his  entire  system." (") 


(1)  "Revue  MuslcaJe."  March  1831. 

(2)  Journal   des  Dfebats,"    musical   criticisms,    Paganini's  2nd   and  3rd   con- 
aerts. 

(3)  "Revue  Musicale,"  March  1831. 


A  BIOGRAPHY  39 


The  third  concert,  postponed  on  account  of  a  court  function, 
took  place  a  week  later,  on  the  20th ;  the  receipts  for  this  reached 
the  highest  figure  of  the  eleven  concerts  given  by  Paganini,  21,895 
francs.  On  Wednesday,  the  23rd,  the  receipts  were  scarcely  less 
(20,869  francs).  The  artist  asked  the  Duchess  of  Orleans  to 
assist  at  his  concert  on  Sunday  the  27th,  and  wrote  to  Veron :  "I 
want  this  concert  to  be  more  ornamental  than  useful,"  and  to 
this  end  he  asked  Her  Majesty  to  do  him  the  honor  to  assist;  he 
also  asked  the  Director  of  the  Opera  to  have  Mme.  Damoreau  sing: 
"I  would  ask,  in  your  interest  as  well  as  for  my  satisfaction,  that 
you  advertise  her  appearance  in  large  letters  on  your  announcements 
for  the  week,  and  I  would  also  like  you  to  put  on  some  pretty 
ballet."(i^  The  financial  results  for  this  evening  were  16,014  francs. 
The  following  concerts  (April  ist,  3d,  8th  and  15th)  brought  14.436. 
14,113,  16,063  ^"cl  9,144  francs  respectively.  On  Sunday,  April 
17th,  an  extra  concert  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor  brought  the  receipts 
down  to  6,105  francs  (2),  which  did  not  rise  above  11,502  francs  at 
the  last  concert  (April  24th).  The  total  for  the  eleven  was  165,741 
francs.  Paganini  had  to  give  up  the  Opera  on  the  loth  on  account 
of  a  charity  affair  which  was  to  be  held  there  the  next  day.  He 
then  gave  concerts  at  the  Theatre  Italien.  He  was  accused  of  hav- 
ing refused  to  assist  in  this  charitable  work,  and  refuted  this  ac- 
cusation in  a  letter,  under  date  of  April  9th,  published  by  the  papers. 
It  meant  a  loss  to  him,  he  said,  to  give  up  his  concert  on  the  loth, 
and  it  was,  moreover,  his  intention,  before  he  left  Paris,  to  give  a 
concert  for  charity,  as  he  had  done  in  all  the  foreign  cities  which  he 
had  visited. 

Paganini  left  Paris  about  the  enrl  of  A])ril,  on  his  way  to  Eng- 
land. On  the  27th  he  wrote  a  farewell  letter  to  Paer,  signing  him- 
self "his  grateful  pupil."  On  the  6th  he  had  written  to  a  Mon.sicur 
Guillain   that   he   wouUl   be   heard   at   Douai   and   at    Pille.^'^      We 


(1)  Contents  of  autograph  letter  furnl.'?hed  by  M.  Charavny. 

(2)  Besides?  thl3  sum,  says  "I-e  Monlfour."  Papanlnl  himsolf  donated  3,000 
franos  to  n  charity  organization  and  to  a  niimhor  of  noody  famlllPH.  Tlio  ex- 
penses to  the  management  of  the  Opera  were  3,3?.B  francs  BO  rmtlmes,  so  that 
thorn  still  remained  2,768  francs  M  centimes,  to  be  dl3trlbut»>d  by  the  PiiMIc 
Charities  Institutions.  "Messrs.  Nourrit,  Dahadle.  Al.  Dupont  and  Mllo  Donis. 
wishing  to  assist  Paganini  In  his  charitable  deed,  did  not  rl.ilm  their  remunera- 
tion, which  totaled  290  francs"  (May  r!d).  "Thin  time."  says  the  "Courrler  dc» 
Thentres,"  "the  Italian  langunRc  was  not  exclusively  used,  and  n  few  French 
words  were  heard,  like  an  oasis  In  the  desert.  TTnfortunately.  the  liall  seemed 
to  be  this  desert.     Only  4,000  francs  were  realized"  (May  12th). 

(?,)  Anto;,';aril-s    transmitted    by    M.    Charnvay. 


40  NICOLO   PAGANINI 


do  not  know  whether  he  kept  this  promise ;  at  any  rate,  "he  received 
for  two  concerts,  given  at  Calais  and  at  Boulogne,  nearly  10,000 
francs,  according  to  a  London  paper,"  says  the  Moniteur  of  May 
20th,  having  refused  to  play  at  Dover,  making  an  average  of  £200 
(5,000  francs). (1) 

On  arriving  at  London  Paganini  signed  a  contract  whereby  he 
was  bound  to  give  six  concerts  at  the  King's  Theatre. (^j  The  Lon- 
don public,  like  the  Parisians,  impatiently  awaited  the  arrival  of  the 
great  violinist.  Several  days  before  the  first  concert  the  hall  was 
sold  out,  although  the  price  of  seats  was  one,  two,  and  even  three 
guineas;  it  was  said  that  Paganini  would  receive  £2,000  (50,000 
francs)  per  evening. 

He  was  engaged  by  Laporte  to  appear  for  the  first  time.  May 
2ist,  on  the  stage  of  the  Royal  Theatre,  but  the  day  before,  being 
indisposed,  he  was  forced  to  postpone  his  debut. 

The  musical  journal.  The  Harmonic  on,  reports  all  the  contro- 
versies in  the  daily  papers   which   arose  upon   Paganini's  arrival, 
and  the  reports  of  his  exorbitant  demands.    In  general,  aside  from 
the  artistic  question,  the  English  press  could  scarcely  be  called  favor- 
ably disposed  toward  him.    All  this  noise,  these  discussions  explain 
better  than  any  indisposition  (which  may,  however,  have  been  real), 
why  the  first  concert  was  postponed  for  two  weeks.     The  Revue 
Musicale  echoed  the  sentiment.     "The  papers  report  Paganini  as 
insolent,  impertinent,"  writes  a  London  correspondent;  "Leporte, 
the  manager  of  the  Italian  Opera,  has  doubled  the  price  of  seats. 
Never  before  has  the  price  of  the  cheap  seats  been  raised  in  Lon- 
don."    Several  days  after  the  Revue  announces  that  Paganini  was 
compelled  to  lower  the  price  of  seats  for  his  concert.    This  explains 
the  letter  in  which  he  excuses  himself  for  having  demanded  the 
raising  of  prices. 

Finally,  the  first  concert  took  place,  on  Friday,  June  3d,   for 
which  the  receipts  were  £yoo.    The  concerto  in  E-flat  and  the  Mili- 


(1)  "Revue  Musicale,"  May  21st,   1831. 

(2)  The  substance  of  a  letter,  written  in  French,  under  date  of  June  1st, 
to  the  "Courrier"  and  the  "Globe,"  and  which  is  part  of  the  collection  of 
Fillon  and  Bovet,  has  been  given  by  M.  Charavay  as  follows:  "Being  in  the 
habit  of  doubling  the  ordinary  price  of  seats  in  all  the  towns  In  which  he  had 
played  on  the  Continent,  he  wanted  to  do  the  same  in  London;  however,  when  he 
learned  that  ordinary  prices  were  already  far  higher  than  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Channel,  he  readily  conformed  to  the  English  customs."  This  letter, 
consisting  of  two  four-page  sheets,  Is  signed  twice,  and  was  offered  for  sale 
March   7th,   1907,   by  Llepmannsohn.   at   Berlin. 


A  BIOGRAPHY  4J 


tary  Sonata  on  the  fourth  string  found  much  favor.  A  week  later 
the  second  concert  brought  ii200.  Paganini  played  a  new  concerto 
in  B-flat  minor,  the  Carneval  of  X'enice,  and  Moses'  IVaycr.  On 
Monday  he  reappeared  with  a  new  concerto ;  the  receipts  were  £900. 
On  the  1 6th  he  played  a  Cantabile  which  he  had  composed  for  two 
strings,  a  Rondo  Scherzoso  by  Kreutzer  and  variations  on  La  Cene- 
rentola;  at  the  fifth  concert,  which  was  announced  to  be  the  last,  the 
hall  was  filled  to  overflowing;  but  this  last  concert  was  followed  by 
ten  further  ones,  announced  as  "the  very  last,  positively  the  last, 
irrevocably  the  last,"  etc.,  (June  27th  and  30th,  July  4th,  15th,  25th, 
27th,  at  the  Opera,  etc.)  Finally,  on  August  20th,  at  his  last  appear- 
ance before  the  London  public,  he  was  "rapturously  encored."  The 
receipts  for  the  fifteen  concerts  were  £9000.  two-thirds  of  which 
went  to  Paganini. 

In  the  meantime  he  had  appeared  at  London  Tavern  (July  13th 
and  1 6th),  and  in  several  drawing  rooms  of  the  highest  aristocracy 
(June  2ist  at  Lord  Holland's,  etc.),  and,  moreover,  he  was  not  too 
proud  to  give  special  lessons,  at  enormous  prices,  to  several  ladies 
who  were  anxious  to  see  him  face  to  face,  whom  the  Athenaeum 
had  called  "truly  a  Zamiel  in  appearance,  and  without  doubt  a  demon 
in  performance." 

Having  an  engagement  at  Norwich  for  assize  week.  Paganini 
left  London  for  a  few  days  toward  the  end  of  July.  His  manager. 
Pellet,  "lost  money,"  says  the  Harmnnicon;  "Signor  Paganini  pock- 
eted about  £800  sterling!"  The  receipts  for  the  three  concerts  were 
£867,  according  to  the  same  paper.^^^ 

It  is  '^aid  that  King  r.corgr  TV.  wisht-d  him  to  dedtict  50  \wx 
cent,  of  the  price  of  £100  which  he  asked  for  an  appearance  at  Court, 
but  Paganini  replied  that  His  Majesty  could  hear  him  cheaper  by 
attending  one  of  his  concerts  at  the  theatre,  and  he  did  not  care  to 
be  bargained  with. 

At  the  end  of  August  Paganini  was  engaged  for  the  festival  at 
Dublin,  from  where  he  seems  to  have  vi.sited  various  towns  in  Ire- 
land. He  first  appeared  on  Scptcnilur  ist  at  the  festival  ( tlie  re- 
ceipts were  £182  IDS.)  anfl  sul)sef|uently  gave  several  concerts  at  the 
theatre,  the  first  of  which  brought  £700.    On  October  ist  he  was  at 


(1)  The  "Harmonlcon,"  Sept.-mber,  1R31.  pp.  217  and  22(5:  Pnjranlnl  also 
played  at  Cheltfiihnm  on  Anpust  fith;  rlrrnmPt.nncpfl  fnrr».<1  him  to  lo.ivo  pre- 
cipitately to  avoid  the  anger  of  the  crowd  ("Revue  MiiBlrjile."  November  Gth, 
p.  816.) 


42  NICOLO  PAGANINI 


York,  and  several  days  later  he  wrote  from  Limerick  to  his  caro 
Pacini,  "Questa  sera  daro  il  secondo  concerto  e  domani  partiro  per 
Dublin©."    He  remained  at  the  Irish  capital  until  the  middle  of  the 

month,  and  on  Monday  the  17th  "at  i  o'clock  the  splendid  coach  of 
the  modern  Orpheus  stopped  at  his  rooms  in  Fleet  Street,  to  take 
the  Signer  away  from  the  metropolis  through  the  south  of  Ire- 
land."(i) 

He  then  returned  to  the  larger  isle,  which  he  toured  extensively 
before  crossing  to  the  Continent  again.  Toward  the  end  of  Novem- 
ber he  played  at  Brighton  (he  had  been  paid  200  guineas  in  ad- 
vance to  come  there).  On  December  ist,  in  London,  he  had  to 
undergo  an  operation  at  St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital,  regarding 
which  the  Harmonicon  gives  us  no  actual  details,  but  of  which  it 
speaks  with  unmerciful  sarcasm:  "Paganini  in  the  surgical  The- 
atre." On  December  17th  the  Court  Journal  announced  the  reap- 
pearance of  the  artist ;  Ecce  iterum  Crispinus,  writes  the  Harmoni- 
con, which  states  that  Paganini  refused  1,800  guineas  from  a  man- 
ager at  Liverpool,  for  six  evenings.  He  demanded  ii6,ooo  for  fif- 
teen evenings  at  Vauxhall  Gardens. 

"It  has  been  proposed  to  give  him  the  title  of  Marchese  de  Cre- 
mona ;  others  claim  he  should  be  made  Duca  d'Inghilterra-Stolta."(2) 
Finally,  the  Courier  shows  us  Paganini  at  Winchester  about  Febru- 
ary loth,  1832,  earning  £200  in  twenty-eight  minutes,  or  at  the  rate 
of  ii2  IDS.  per  second,  "while  in  certain  countries  a  laborer  gets 
only  4s.  6d.  per  week !" 

Three  months  later,  when  the  concert  given  at  the  Paris  Opera 
House,  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor,  was  reported,  the  English  musical 
papers  complained,  with  some  reason,  it  must  be  admitted,  that 
Signor  Paganini  had  acquired  i20,ooo  in  England  and  had  not  given 
a  single  charity  concert  there. (3) 

Before  leaving  London  Paganini  closed  a  contract,  undoubtedly 
advantageous,  with  a  manager  who,  for  a  certain  percentage,  or 
a  fixed  commission,  undertook  all  the  business  details  of  the  tours 
in  Belgium  and  Northern  France  which  he  was  about  to  undertake. 
Paganini  was  the  first,  it  seems,  to  thus  "hire  himself  out"  to  a  man- 
ager. The  matter  nearly  caused  a  scandal  at  the  time ;  it  seemed 
unworthy  of  an  artist  to  sell  his  talent  to  a  third  party,  who  under- 


(1)  The   "Harmonicon,"  November,   1881,  p.   382. 

(2)  The   "Harmonicon,"   January,   1832,   p.   21. 

(3)  Ibid.,  May,  1S32,  p.  119. 


A  BIOGRAPHY 


43 


took  to  exploit  it  at  his  own  risk  and  responsibility.  However,  in 
view  of  the  good  results,  the  practical  side  of  this  proceeding  had 
to  be  recognized,  which,  moreover,  was  absolutely  legitimate,  and 
soon  others  followed  his  example. 

"Paganini,"  says  Grove,  "aroused  more  curiosity  than  en- 
thusiasm." He  himself,  in  a  manuscript  letter  dated  London, 
August  loth,  183 1,  complains  of  the  clamorous  and  ob.strusive 
attentions  with  which  he  was  annoyed  while  in  London.  "Although 
the  curiosity  to  see  me  had  long  been  satisfied,  although  I  had 
played  in  public  more  than  thirty  times,  and  although  my  portrait 
has  been  published  in  every  conceivable  style  and  pose,  I  cannot 
leave  my  rooms  without  collecting  a  crowd,  which  is  content  to 
follow  or  accompany  me ;  they  walk  beside  me,  ahead  of  me,  they 
speak  to  me  in  English,  of  which  I  do  not  understand  a  word,  they 
touch  me  as  though  to  make  sure  that  I  am  flesh  and  blood.  And 
this  does  not  apply  merely  to  the  ordinary  crowd,  but  to  the  better 
class  of  people." 

Be  that  as  it  may,  he  had  created  a  great  sensation  in  England, 
and  although  he  had  antagonized  the  press,  if  not  the  public,  by 
his  exorbitant  demands  and  the  fabulous  sums  paid  to  hear  him, 
the  papers  recognized  his  wonderful  genius  and  endeavored  to  dis- 
cover the  "secret"  of  his  art. 

About  March  loth,  Paganini  returned  to  Paris,  where  he  was 
more  assured  of  success/^'  After  a  concert  given  at  tlic  "Italions." 
his  first  public  appearance  was  a  charity  concert,  with  which  an 
English  paper  was  soon  to  reproach  him  so  bitterly.  Paganini  ar- 
rived in  a  city  decimated  by  the  ravages  of  cholera. 

"Deeply  grieved  by  the  sorrow  which  afflicts  all  humanity,"  he 
writes  on  April  8th,  "I  should  like  to  give  a  concert,  the  receijUs 
from  which  shall  be  devoted  to  the  victims  of  the  cruel  scoiirge 
which  has  come  over  the  capital."^^)  "The  Minister  of  Commerce 
and  Public  Works  has  accepted  this  offer,"  says  the  MoniUur  on 
the  13th,  "and  on  next  Wednesday  intends  to  place  one  of  the 
large  theatres  of  Paris  at  the  disposal  of  the  distinguished  musi- 
cian." The  concert  took  place  at  the  Opera  amid  the  wildest  en- 
thusiasm and  applause,  "which  he  acknowledged  modestly  and  sym- 

(IP'At  last  I  shall  hear  a  little  munlc  a«nln."  he  Is  snld  to  hii%<'  romnrkcd 
on  leaving  the  atpamer  at  Havre  (OallgTJanufl-Mpsnenger).  He  gave  a  concert 
at  Havre  on  March  8th  or  9th. 

(J)  Letter  with  poatscrlpt.  contents  given  by  M.  Charavay.  The  addrM»«e 
wa»  doubtless   the   Minister   of  the   Int»;rlor 


44 


NICOLO   PAGANINI 


pathetically,"  says  the  official  paper  of  the  23d.  The  box  office  re- 
ceipts were  9,728  francs  40  centimes,  leaving,  after  deducting  ex- 
penses, 9,154  francs  20  centimes  for  "the  poor  people  afflicted  by  the 
cholera." 

Other  concerts  soon  followed  that  at  the  Opera,  on  April 
27th,  Fridays  and  Mondays,  May  4th,  7th,  14th,  21st,  25th  and 
June  1st,  for  which  the  receipts  are  not  mentioned  in  the  files  of 
the  Opera,  but  which  were  probably  less  than  those  of  the  pre- 
ceding year.  Some  time  later,  he  was  again  in  London,  where 
he  gave  a  series  of  concerts  of  which  the  four  "positively  the  last" 
took  place  in  August  at  Covent  Garden.  The  slight  attention 
which  the  press  pretended  to  pay  to  Paganini  at  this  time  is 
noticeable,  although  his  popularity  with  the  public  was  fully  as 
great  as  the  year  before. 

Paganini  finished  in  France  in  the  year  1833.  He  was  dan- 
gerously ill  about  the  month  of  December,  but,  as  the  Gazette 
Musicale  reports  on  January  5th,  "he  is  better  and  will  soon  be  re- 
stored to  his  art  and  to  his  admirers."  His  illness  was  doubt- 
less of  short  duration,  for  Paganini  had  assisted,  on  Dec.  22nd, 
at  a  concert  given  by  Berlioz,  who,  about  this  time,  was  to  write 
him  a  symphony  with  a  solo  for  viola.  "Paganini,  whose  health 
improved  from  day  to  day,"  again  reports  the  Gazette  of  the  i6th, 
"has  asked  Berlioz  to  write  him  a  new  composition  in  the  style  of  the 
'Symphonic  Fantastique,'  which  the  celebrated  violinist  intends 
to  produce  on  his  return  from  England.  This  work  will  be  en- 
titled 'The  Last  Moments  of  Mary  Stuart,'  dramatic  phantasy  for 
orchestra,  chorus  and  viola  solo.  Paganini  will  take  the  viola  part 
for  the  first  time  in  public."  It  is  known  from  Berlioz'  memoirs 
that  Paganini  was  not  satisfied  with  the  first  composition  which 
the  composer  submitted,  and  Mary  Stuart  was  changed  to  Harold 
and  played  the  following  year. 

In  the  beginning  of  March,  without  having  been  heard  in 
Paris  during  the  winter,  the  virtuoso  left  for  Amiens,  Lille,  Valen- 
ciennes and  Brussels. 

At  Brussels,  where  he  appeared  three  times,  beginning  March 
15th,  after  having  played  at  the  house  of  Fetis,  Paganini  encoun- 
tered one  of  the  rare  defeats  of  his  career.  Here  and  there  he  had 
met  with  hostility,  but  nowhere  had  there  been  the  indifference 
shown  at  the  "Theatre  de  la  Monnaie."  As  soon  as  he  appeared 
on  the  stage  a  burst  of  laughter  greeted  him  from  the  audience; 


A  BIOGRAPHY  45 


this  big,  black  skeleton-like  man  provoked  the  mirth  of  the  crowd 
before  he  had  touched  his  instrument,  and  his  playing  merely 
increased  the  boorish  hilarity.  At  Bruges,  which  then  had  33,000 
inhabitants,  a  subscription  for  a  concert  showed  only  fourteen 
signatures.  It  was  therefore  better  to  cross  the  Channel  as  soon 
as  possible.  In  London,  a  series  of  ten  concert'?  drew  the  crowds 
as  in  the  preceding  years. 

A  peculiar  incident,  of  which  more  than  one  happened  to  him 
in  his  life,  drew  attention  to  Paganini  in  a  scandalous  way,  on  his 
return  to  London.  He  was  at  Boulogne-sur-IMer  in  July,  when 
a  Mr.  Watson,  with  whom  he  had  boarded  while  in  London,  Cal- 
thorpe  Street,  Gray's  Inn  Lane,  imagined  that  he  had  carried  off 
his  daughter  and  pursued  Paganini,  whom  he  joined  first  at  Dover 
and  then  at  Boulogne.  Watson  claimed  that  Paganini  had  prom- 
ised to  marry  his  daughter  on  the  continent,  with  a  dowry  of 
£4,000,  and  that  he  had  given  her  in  London  a  tiara  worth 
50  guineas,  and  diamonds  estimated  at  300  guineas.  Paganini  re- 
plied in  the  Annotatetir  of  Boulogne,  and  his  letter  made  the  rounds 
of  the  entire  Parisian  press,  about  March  15th,  1834.  Far  from 
having  carried  off  Miss  Watson,  said  he,  she  had  sought  refuge  with 
him,  having  been  ill-treated  by  her  father  and  step-mother;  .she 
had  followed  him,  much  against  his  will,  from  London  to  Dover, 
from  Dover  to  Calais,  from  Calais  to  Boulogne.  Paganini  having 
proved  "not  guilty,"  Watson  finally  returned  to  London  with  his 
daughter.  Meanwhile  the  musical  papers  reported  that  Paganini 
had  invented,  some  said  a  contra-viola,  others  said  "a  new  in- 
strument, which  he  was  trying  in  London,  and  on  which  he  claims 
to  imitate  the  human  voice  more  nearly  than  has  heretofore  been 
done  with  any  other  instrument. "^^^ 

Returning  to  Paris,  Paganini  had  to  (|uict  some  dissensions 
of  the  press.  The  previous  year,  the  "luirope  Litterairc,"  a  paper 
for  which  Berlioz  wrote,  had  denounced  him  violently  for  having 
refused  to  "play  even  a  little  air"  at  the  benefit  given  to  Miss 
Smithson.^2)  j^,ies  janin  attacked  him  on  Sept.  15th  of  that  year, 
in  an  article  in  the  Debat,  and  a  week  later  he  returned  to  the 
charge  with  half  a  dozen  columns,  an  entire  editorial:  "Paganmi 
and  the  sufferers  from  the  flood  at  .Saint-Lticnne."   "Paganini."  said 

(1)  "Gazette  Muslcale,"  July  6th.  1834;   "McnfHtrcl."  May  26lh. 

(2)  "Feullletons   des     Dehats."  Sept.    IBth   and    22nd;      Figaro."    Sept.    22nd 
Pagrantnl's  annwer  appeared  In  "I.e  Monltfiir"  of  the  24fh 


46  NICOLO   PAGANINI 


the  Figaro  of  the  same  date,  "has  not  responded  to  the  direct  ap- 
peal made  by  J.  Janin  in  a  very  clever  article  in  the  Dcbat.  It 
is  an  actual  fact  that  the  celebrated  artist  has  refused  to  play  for 
a  quarter  of  an  hour,  for  the  benefit  of  the  victims  of  the  flood  at 
Saint-Etienne.  Paganini  can  announce,  if  he  likes,  a  concert  for 
his  own  benefit ;  no  one  will  attend."  It  was  a  cross  fire  of  open 
attacks  and  attempts  at  coercion  which  seemed  to  justify,  or  at 
least  to  explain,  the  reputation  for  avarice  which  the  artist  had. 
A  letter  from  him  replying  to  the  attacks,  set  these  facts  straight. 
The  substance  of  the  letter  was  about  as  follows :  "In  two  or  three 
months  I  have  given  but  one  concert  in  France.  I  am  returning  to 
Genoa.  I  have  already  given  two  concerts  in  Paris  for  the  benefit 
of  the  poor."(i) 


(1)   "L'Europe  Litteraire,"  April  19th,  1833. 


A  BIOGRAPHY  47 


ETURNING  to  his  country  about  October,  1834,  Paganini 
selected  the  Villa  Gaiona.  near  Parma,  as  his  favorite 
residence  among  the  properties  which  his  immense  for- 
tune  had  enabled  him  to  acquire.  For  some  time  he  had 
been  planning  important  projects  of  various  kinds;  first  the  publi- 
cation of  his  works ;  during  his  last  stay  at  London,  the  Parisian 
editor,  Troupenas,  had  made  him  an  offer,  but  Paganini  had  stipu- 
lated a  price  so  high  that,  under  the  most  favorable  conditions,  the 
sales  of  several  years  would  not  have  covered  the  sum ;  according 
to  Fetis,  however,  Paganini  wanted  to  be  his  own  publisher,  but 
since  he  was  not  yet  ready  to  end  his  career  as  a  virtuoso  entirely. 
he  conceived  the  queer  fancy  to  arrange  his  concertos  for  the  piano. 
Another  of  his  pet  schemes  was  the  founding  of  a  conservatory,  or 
rather  a  school  for  violin,  in  which  he  would  teach  the  "secrets"  of 
his  art. 

Meanwhile  he  gave  his  countrymen  an  opportunity  to  hear 
him  once  more.  On  November  14th  he  gave  a  concert  at  Pla- 
centia,  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor,  and  the  following  month  he 
went  to  Parma,  at  the  request  of  Marie  Louise;  on  December  12th 
he  appeared  at  the  court  of  the  ex-empress,  and  on  this  occasion 
she  presented  him  with  a  ring,  bearing  the  royal  crown  and  his 
initials  in  diamonds.  She  also  appointed  him  Director  of  the  Court 
Theatre,  which  prompted  Fetis,  Reviic  Mtisicalc.  to  remark:  "With 
much  regret  we  see  this  king  of  artists  stoop  to  the  level  of  a 
courtier."(i)  Later,  on  January  3rd.  1836.  Marie  Louise  nia<le  liun 
Chevalier  de  Saint-Georges. 

lie  spent  the  year  1835  ])artly  at  Genoa  or  at  Milan,  jtartly  at 
his  Villa  Gaiona.  On  July  28  Marquis  Giancarlo  Di  Negro,  one 
of  his  warmest  admirers,  gave  a  grand  entertainment  in  honor  of 
Paganini,  at  his  villa  on  the  outskirts  of  Genoa,  which  he  had  named 
"Earthly  Paradise."  A  marble  bust  of  the  arti.st  was  solemnly  un- 
veiled;  there  were  poetic  and  enthusiastic  speeches,  inspired  by 
his  recent  triumphs  in  all  Europe. 

About  six  weeks  after  this  ovation,  in  which  the  best  Genoese 
society  took  part,  a  report  of  Pagaiiini's  deatii  wa>^  circulated  m 
Paris.    As  in  the  case  of  Liszt  in    1825,  and,  ten  years  later,  of 


O)    "Revue  Musicale."  Jan.  25th.  IS."?:,. 


48  NICOLO   PAGANINI 


Madame  Malibran,(i)  it  was  a  false  report.   The  cholera  raging  just 
then,  at  Genoa,  gave  credence  to  the  "sad  event." 

On  June  9th,  he  himself  gave  a  charity  concert  at  Turin,  in 
the  Carignano  Theatre,  with  the  guitarist  Luigi  Legnani ;  and  the 
poet  Romani  wrote  a  ballad  in  his  honor. 

A  month  later  he  was  at  Paris,  where  troubles  of  a  different 
nature  awaited  him.  Two  speculators,  Tardif  de  Petitville  and 
Rousseau-Desmelotries,  had  planned  to  open  a  casino  on  the  Chaus- 
see  d'Antin,  just  off  the  Boulevard.  "It  is  the  object  of  the  Com- 
pany," said  the  prospectus,  "to  establish  a  musical  and  literary 
centre,  under  the  name  of  Casino.  In  this  establishment  will  be 
concentrated  all  the  pleasure  which  music,  dancing,  conversation, 
reading  and  promenades  can  give  the  Parisian  public  and  the  many 
strangers  who  flock  there,  and  it  will  also  enable  them  to  enjoy 
conveniences  and  privileges  of  all  kinds." 

For  the  installation  of  this  one  might  say  encyclopediacal  es- 
tablishment, Petitville  had  bought  the  residence  of  La  Guinard,(2) 
which,  during  the  Revolution,  had  gone  over  to  the  financier  Perre- 
gaux,  and,  after  the  establishment  of  the  Empire,  belonged  to  Ar- 
righi,  Duke  of  Padua,  and  was  occupied  by  the  Lafitte  Bank. 

In  the  enormous  grounds,  which  extended  almost  to  the  Rue 
Mathurins,  that  is,  about  the  entire  length  of  the  actual  Rue  Meyer- 
beer, a  pavilion  was  erected,  of  which  a  lithograph  of  the  times 
shows  us  the  general  aspect.  This  pavilion,  the  old  salons  and  the 
grounds  were  to  constitute  the  Casino-Paganini,  which  was  opened 
to  the  public  for  the  first  time  on  Saturday,  November  25th,  1837. 
Paganini  not  only  owned  a  large  part  of  the  stock  in  the  Casino, 
to  which  he,  who  was  usually  so  cautious,  so  lightly  gave  his  name, 
but  he  was  to  be  heard  there  and  never  played.  "The  state  of  his 
health  does  not  permit  him  as  yet  to  appear  before  the  public." 
says  the  Gazette  Musicale.(^)  Berlioz,  in  the  Chronique  de  Paris, 
announcing  the  approaching  opening  of  the  Casino,  wrote,  on 
October  8th,  1837,  as  follows :  "The  part  which  the  famous  vio- 
linist will  personally  take  in  the  musical  program  is  to  walk  about 
the  grounds  three  times  a  day,  if  the  weather  is  fine." 

(1)  "The  Revue  Musicale,"  of  Jan.  25th,  1835,  had  reported  her  murdered 
at  Milan. 

(2)  This  was  Chaussfee  D'Antin  No.  9,  the  actual  location  being  Meyerbeer 
street.  Escudier  gives  the  numbers  7,  9,  and  11.  It  seems  probable,  however, 
that  the  Casino  occupied  only  the  lot  numbered  9  or  11  at  difterent  times. 
It  was  afterwards  occupied  by  the  offices  of  the  Orleans  Company. 

(3)  "Gazette  Musicale,"  Dec.  3rd,  1837,  p.  529. 


A  BIOGRAPHY  ^g 


The  brief  existence  of  the  Casino,  its  principal  attraction  gone, 
brought  Paganini  only  law-suits  and  debts. 

The  columns  of  the  Gazette  des  Tribunaux,  on  March  i6th, 
show  Paganini  sued  for  failure  "to  play  twice  weekly  in  the  drawing 
rooms  of  the  Casino,  to  the  amount  of  6,000  francs  damages  for  each 
non-appearance,"  and  a  warrant  was  issued. 

Paganini  immediately  appealed.  Meanwhile  de  Petitville  and 
another  party  named  Fleury,  formerly  an  insurance  agent,  were 
fined  300  francs  for  attempting,  in  November  of  the  preceding 
year,  to  bribe  the  Secretary-General  of  the  Police  Department 
Malleval,  and  the  Chief  of  Department  Simonet.  Fleury  had  sent 
each  of  them  about  ten  shares  of  stock  in  the  Casino,  with  a  view 
to  winning  the  good  will  of  the  administration,  who  had  delayed 
in  granting  authority  to  open  the  establishment.  On  March  7th, 
at  the  Civil  Court,  there  was  some  controversy  between  Petitville 
and  his  administrator,  Rousseau-Desmelotries.  A  certain  Fuma- 
galli  seized  and  sold  all  the  furniture,  for  which  Rousseau  claimed 
payment.  The  workmen  claimed  200,000  francs  for  wages  due 
them. 

Paganini  was  forced  to  appear  once  more  as  defendant.  He 
explained  that  only  64  shares  had  been  issued  by  the  managers  of 
the  Casino,  de  Petitville  and  Fumagalli ;  he  himself  had  bought 
60  of  these,  for  an  amount  of  60,000  francs.  Action  was  later 
brought  by  one  of  the  attorneys  to  keep  the  "Paganini  Ca.se"  out 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  on  March  30th. 

The  Casino,  .still  bearing  the  name  of  the  great  artist,  became 
a  dance-hall  under  the  next  lessee.  A  singer,  Mme.  San  Felice,  who 
had  been  engaged  by  the  founders,  tried  to  seize  the  receipts  on 
the  evening  of  the  Mardi-Gras.  Finally,  on  August  31st,  Paganini 
was  subpoenaed  by  Mr.  Escudicr  (the  same  who  later  brought  out 
the  France  Musicale  and  wrote  two  biographies  of  tin-  .irtist). 
who  clainicfl  a  sum  of  2,000  francs  for  services  rendered  "as 
manager  of  the  Maestro's  various  business  undertakings,  especially 
those  concerning  the  defunct  Casino.  According  to  M.  Coutard, 
the  attorney  for  Kscudier,  Paganini  had  made  hi;n  wf-ndcrful  |.roni- 
ises,  and  afterwards  refused  to  consider  the  numerous  services  of 
his  manager  as  anything  but  voluntary  favors.  Nevertheless  he 
had  made  him  an  actual  offer  of  400  francs."     Finally  the  court 


50  NICOLO   PAGANINI 


fixed  the  amount  due  as  6cx)  francs,  from  which  a  deduction  of 
486  francs  would  be  made.  <-^) 

Of  music  there  was  no  thought,  after  the  announcement,  in 
June,  of  a  concert  which  never  took  place,  and  a  trip  to  London 
which  was  never  carried  out.  The  papers  mentioned  Paganini's 
name  only  to  narrate  his  financial  misfortunes.  Moreover,  the 
artist's  health  was  in  a  very  precarious  condition;  his  larynx  was 
affected  so  as  to  make  him  almost  voiceless,  and  he  was  taking 
treatment  at  an  establishment  known  as  "Les  Neothermes,"  in  the 
Rue  Victoire,  which  was  very  popular  at  the  time.  An  absurd  story 
was  added  to  the  controversy  which  the  founding  of  the  Casino 
had  stirred  up.  The  Gazette  Musicale  of  June  24th  published  a 
letter  addressed  by  Paganini  to  a  Mr.  Douglas  Loveday,  father  of 
a  young  pianiste  who  had  played  at  the  opening  concert  of  the 
Casino.  In  this  letter,  whose  "contents  and  motive"  could  well 
look  strange  to  the  Gazette,  Paganini  charged  Mr.  Loveday  with 
a  sum  of  26,400  francs,  for  instruction  given  his  daughter.  Six 
weeks  after  this  publication,  Paganini  explained  the  story,  and  ad- 
dressing Loveday,  he  said : 

"Sir,  you  have  chosen  to  publish  a  letter  which  you  took  seri- 
ously, and  which  I  wrote  to  you  with  the  sole  aim  of  showing  you 
how  easy  it  is  to  cause  annoyance  to  others.  My  letter  was  merely 
a  little  revenge  for  the  account  which  you  had  opened  for  your 

friend,  Mr.  Cr ,  'the  celebrated  physician,'  as  you  call  him.   As 

a  matter  of  fact,  in  order  to  let  him  earn  some  money  at  any  cost, 
you  have  very  cleverly  transformed  into  professional  visits,  a  few 
how-are-you's,  which  your  friend,  'the  celebrated  physician,'  asked 
me  while  I  lived  at  your  house;  a  courtesy  to  which  I  immediately 
put  an  end  by  closing  my  door  to  'the  celebrated  physician,'  as  soon 
as  I  noticed  that  his  greetings  were  becoming  serious,  and  that  he 
was  preparing  to  reinforce  them  with  medical  advice  which,  for  the 
sake  of  my  health,  I  did  not  care  to  follow."  ^^^ 

Loveday  claimed  37,800  francs  for  having  boarded  Paganini 
during  ninety-nine  days,  and  18,000  francs  for  piano  lessons  given 
by  Miss  Loveday  to  Paganini's  son.  Paganini  in  his  reply  ridiculed 
his  adversary's  French  in  a  very  witty  manner,  and  finally  had  the 
laugh  on  his  side. 

Still,   all   these   incidents,   which   dealt   with   money  and   law- 

(1)  "Gazette  des  Tribunaux,"   Oct.   1st,   1838. 

(2)  "Gazette  Musicale,"  June  24th  and  Aug.  12th,  1838. 


I'AdANlNI'S  VIOLIN 
(Municipal  MuHeuin  ut  Uenoii.i 


A  BIOGRAPHY 


51 


suits,  only  served  to  confirm  the  stories  of  the  Maestro's  avarice. 
At  this  time  something  occurred  which  silenced  all  the  ill-natured 
remarks  of  the  interested  and  covetous  hangers-on  of  the  millionaire 
artist.  On  December  i6th,  Berlioz  gave  a  concert  at  the  Conserva- 
tory. The  composer  of  the  ill-fated  "Benvenuto  Cellini,"  which 
had  been  ignominiously  hissed  at  the  Opera,  reappeared  at  the 
head  of  his  "old  guard,"  that  day.  At  the  close  of  the  concert, 
when  "Harold  en  Italic,"  written  at  his  instigation,  had  been  ren- 
dered, Paganini  threw  himself  at  the  feet  of  the  young  composer 
and  cried,  with  all  the  voice  which  was  left  him :    "He  is  a  wonder!" 

"After  the  concert,"  Berlioz  writes  to  his  father,  "Paganini, 
this  grand  and  noble  artist,  came  upon  the  stage  and  told  me  that 
he  was  so  deeply  moved  and  profoundly  impressed  that  he  felt  like 
kneeling  at  my  feet ;  when  I  protested  against  such  an  exaggerated 
demonstration,  he  drew  me  to  the  centre  of  the  stage,  and  there, 
in  the  presence  of  some  of  the  members  of  my  orchestra  who  had 
not  yet  departed,  and  in  spite  of  my  efforts  to  restrain  him,  he 
knelt  at  my  feet,  declaring  that  I  had  gone  farther  than  Beethoven. 

"And  this  is  not  all.  Five  minutes  ago,  little  Achille,  a  charm- 
ing child  of  twelve,  came  to  see  me  and  gave  nic  the  following 
letter  from  his  father,  with  a  gift  of  20,000  francs." — Merc  is 
the  translation  of  this  letter: 

"My  dear  friend. 
With  Beethoven  dead,  only  Berlioz  could  make  him  arise  once 
more,  and  I,  who  have  heard  your  divine  composition,  worthy  of 
a  genius  such  as  yours,  think  it  my  duty  to  ask  you  to  accc])t.  as 
a  token  of  homage  on  my  part,  the  sum  of  twenty  thousand  francs, 
which  will  be  remitted  to  you  by  Baron  de  Rothschild,  on  presenta- 
tion of  the  enclosed. 

"Believe  me  to  be  always 

Your  afTectionatc  friend, 

NicoLo  Paganini.""* 

"i  am  stating  the  facts,  that  is  all,"  says  Berlioz  in  his  Memoirs. 
This  is  the  occurrence  which  astoundcfl  the  entire  press,  and  was 
the  subject  of  an  editorial  by  Jules  Janin,  taking  back  all  the  abuse 
which  he  had  but  lately  hurled  at  Paganini.  and  a  letter  to  lierlioz, 
which  was  printed,  together  with   Paganini's,  in  the  Gazette  Musi- 

(1)  Letter  written  by  Berlioz  to  his  father.  "Dec.  IRth.  1888."  See  Italian 
facsimile. 


52  NICOLO   PAGANINI 


cale  and  later  in  the  Allemeine  Musikalische  Zeitung  of  Leipzig, 
and  finally  made  the  round  of  all  Europe. 

This  princely  gift  was  the  subject  of  long  and  frequent  dis- 
cussions during  the  lifetime  of  Berlioz.  It  was  said  that  be- 
cause Paganini  had  refused  to  play  in  a  concert  for  the  benefit 
of  the  poor,  by  the  advice  of  Jules  Janin  he  had  made  this  present 
to  conciliate  the  public,  as  he  was  about  to  give  four  concerts  him- 
self;  still,  Paganini  no  longer  played  in  public  and  there  is  nothing 
to  prove  that  he  intended  doing  so ;  his  chronic  ill-health  drove  him 
away  from  Paris  continually.  According  to  another  version,  he 
was  merely  acting  in  the  name  of  a  generous  patroness  of  art,  an 
admirer  of  the  composer,  who  wished  to  show  her  appreciation ; 
the  name  of  Bertin  was  mentioned,  proprietor  of  the  Debats,  whose 
daughter  had  caused  the  production  of  "La  Esmeralda"  at  the 
Opera,  brought  out  by  Berlioz  in  1836.  Moreover,  in  his  note  to 
Rothschild,  giving  the  order  to  the  cashier,  Tuesday,  the  i8th,  to 
"remit  to  bearer,  M.  Hector  Berlioz,  the  20,000  francs  which 
I  deposited  with  you  yesterday,"  does  not  this  word  "yesterday" 
indicate  that  during  the  day  of  the  17th  of  July,  Jules  Janin,  Bertin 
and  Paganini  had  planned  the  sensation  of  the  following  day? 
Grammatici  certant. — Let  us  add  that  the  first  version  is  by  Liszt, 
whose  word  it  would  be  difficult  to  refute,  and  who  had  a  very  good 
memory  besides.  The  second,  which  is  plausible  and  more  economi- 
cal for  Paganini,  was  voiced  in  the  very  beginning  and  circulated 
joyfully  by  the  enemies  of  the  Debats  and  of  Berlioz,  who  vigor- 
ously denied  it.(i)  Be  that  as  it  may,  these  20,000  francs  secured 
for  the  composer  "three  years  of  rest,  light  work,  liberty  and  happi- 
ness" (J.  Janin),  and  enabled  him  to  create  another  master-piece, 
"Romeo  and  Juliet."  As  to  Paganini  himself,  he  explained  his 
generous  act  in  this  way : 

"I  did  it  for  Berlioz  and  for  myself.  For  Berlioz,  because  I 
saw  a  young  man  full  of  genius,  whose  strength  and  courage  might 
have  failed  in  this  struggle,  in  which  he  was  engaged  every  day 
against  envious  mediocrity  or  indifferent  ignorance,  and  I  told 
myself  'I  must  come  to  his  aid.'  For  myself,  because  in  years  to 
come  I  will  be  vindicated  in  this  affair,  and  when  my  claims  to 
musical  glory  are  counted,  it  will  not  be  one  of  the  least  to  have 


(1)  See  "L'lllustration,"  March  4th,  1854.  July  26th,  1856;  "Les  Debats,"  Dec. 
8th,  1894,  and  the  works  of  Conestabile,  "Paganini";  Ad.  JuUien,  J.  Tiersot  and 
J.  G.  Prod'homme  on  Berlioz. 


A  BIOGRAPHY 


53 


been  the  first  to  recognize  a  genius,  and  to  have  held  him  up  to  the 
admiration  of  all."(^) 

Thursday  following  the  concert,  Berlioz,  being  able  to  leave 
his  room,  where  he  had  been  confined  for  two  days,  went  to  thank 
his  benefactor.  "I  found  him  alone  in  a  large  room  at  the  Neo- 
thermes,  where  he  lives,"  writes  Berlioz  to  his  sister  that  same 
evening.  "You  know  that  since  about  a  year  he  has  completely 
lost  his  voice,  and  without  the  help  of  his  son  it  is  very  difficult 
to  understand  him.  When  he  saw  me,  the  tears  came  to  his  eyes 
(I  confess  that  I  was  very  nearly  crying  myself)  ;  he  wept,  this 
ferocious  man-eater,  this  seducer  of  women,  this  escaped  convict, 
as  he  has  so  often  been  called;  he  wept  hot  tears  as  he  embraced 
me.  'Don't  mention  another  word  about  it,'  he  said,  'I  deserve 
no  credit ;  it  was  the  greatest  joy,  the  deepest  satisfaction  I  ever 
felt  in  my  life;  you  have  caused  me  emotions  of  which  I  never 
dreamed ;  you  have  gone  a  step  farther  in  the  great  art  of  Beet- 
hoven.' Then,  drying  his  eyes  and  hitting  the  table  with  a  strange 
little  laugh,  he  began  to  talk  volubly,  but  as  I  could  not  understand 
him,  he  went  to  call  his  son,  to  serve  as  interpreter.  With  the 
help  of  little  Achille  I  understood  that  he  said:  'Oh!  I  am  so 
glad;  I  am  overjoyed  to  think  that  all  this  vermin  who  scribbled 
and  talked  against  you,  will  not  be  so  bold  now  because  they  all 
realize  that  I,  Paganini,  know  what  I  am  about — I  who  have  the 
reputation  of  being  hard  to  please.'  " 

Shortly  after  this  event,  which  busied  the  press  for  several 
weeks,  Paganini  left  Paris,  which  he  was  not  to  see  again,  and 
went  to  the  South,  his  health  demanding  a  sojourn  in  a  sunny 
clime. 

He  stopped  at  Marseilles  for  some  time.  In  a  ktlcr  from  there, 
dated  April  26th,  he  wrote  one  of  his  friends,  Aliani,  leader  of  the 
orchestra  at  V'inccnzia,  regarding  his  poor  health,  and  asked  him 
to  .secure  two  violins  for  him.  one  a  Giuseppe  Guarncri  del  Gcsu, 
the  other  a  Stradivarius.(2 )  During  the  following  month,  in  corre- 
spondence addressed  to  the  Monitcur,  he  said  he  would  have  liked 
to  have  taken  part  in  the  benefit  given  to  the  sufferers  at  Mar- 
tinique. (•';  In  July,  he  passed  through  Montpellicr.  coming  from 
the  Baths  at  Balaruc;  "it  seems  he  must  be  continually  under  way," 


(1)  "Journal   de   Parl.-^."   Jan.    18th.   IS.-.O.  nn   article  by   Anjc.    Morel. 

(2)  From  an  autoKraph  (?lvpn  by  M.  Charavay. 

(3)  ■•Monlteur,"   May   22nd.   1839,   letter  of  the  16th. 


54  NICOLO   PAGAN  INI 


writes  a  correspondent  to  the  Moniteur.C^)  '"The  celebrated  artist 
absolutely  refuses  to  comply  with  the  importunities  of  the  fore- 
most amateurs  of  our  town,  to  give  a  concert.  This  refusal  is 
based  on  the  strict  injunctions  of  the  medical  faculty."  Paganini, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  was  never  again  heard  in  public.  However, 
at  Marseilles  he  consented  to  play  in  some  Beethoven  quartets, 
among  friends,  but  that  was  all. 

On  August  22nd,  1839,  the  same  paper  announced  his  arrival 
at  Vernet-les-Bains,  accompanied  by  Dr.  Lallemand.  "Paganini  is 
nothing  but  a  shadow,  he  is  so  emaciated ;  he  has  lost  his  voice 
and  only  his  glowing  eyes  and  angular  gestures  speak  for  him. 
His  violin,  which  led  him  to  fame  and  glory,  was  taken  from  the 
carriage  with  him.  The  patient  is  to  take  the  baths  at  the  Elisa 
Spring  at  22  degrees  heat." (2) 

It  is  doubtful  if  these  stops  at  the  various  watering-places  in  the 
Pyrenees  benefited  him.  Returning  to  Marseilles,  toward  the  end 
of  September,  it  seems  that  no  improvement  was  noticeable  in  his 
condition. (^)  About  this  time  he  wrote  a  last  letter  "before  leaving 
France,"  {■*)  to  Dr.  Lallemand.  The  first  of  October  he  was  at 
Genoa;  he  had  a  nervous  attack  soon  after  his  arrival  which  gave 
much  concern  to  his  "numerous  friends." (^)  With  the  approach  of 
winter,  Paganini  returned  to  Nice.  "I  see  M.  Paganini  here  nearly 
every  day,"  writes  a  correspondent  of  the  Gazette  Musicale,  on 
January  nth.  "The  decision  of  the  courts  in  the  Casino  affair 
has  not  put  him  in  a  very  good  humor. (^)  However,  he  is  still 
quite  vigorous  and  I  often  hear  him  playing,  all  alone,  using  the 
sourdine.  He  always  speaks  of  a  new  method  for  the  violin,  which 
he  intends  to  publish,  and  which  would  simplify  the  study  a  great 
deal,  as  far  as  technique  goes,  and  would  ensure  more  perfect  in- 
tonation to  those  using  it.  Well,  it  is  up  to  the  publishers  now 
to  discover  his  secrets,  and  I  think  it  would  be  well  worth  while."  C^) 

(1)  "Moniteur,"  July  2Sth,  1839. 

(2)  "Moniteur,"  Augu.st  22nd,  1839. 

(3)  Moniteur,"  October  11th,  1839. 

(4)  "Autograph  Catalog  XXVII,"  Halle,  Munich,  1906;  the  date  of  this 
letter  is  erroneously  given  as  August  29th,  1839. 

(5)  "Moniteur,"  October  21st,   1839. 

(6)  "Paganini  had  been  sentenced  to  pay  damages  amounting  to  20,000 
francs  for  failure  to  carry  out  the  contract  which  he  had  signed  to  give  a 
certain  number  of  concerts  at  the  Casino,  which  bore  his  name.  To-day, 
however,  on  appeal  by  the  creditors  of  the  Casino  managers,  the  higher  court 
increased  the  fine  to  50,000  francs  and  lengthened  the  habeas  corpus  period 
to  ten  years."      ("Gazette  Musicale,"   Jan.    5th,   1840,   p.   27-28.) 

(7)  "Gazette  Mu.sicale,"  Jan.  23rd,  1840,  p.  68. 


TllK    I'AGANINI    CASINO    A'l'    I'AKIS,   CHAlJSKi:   UAMlN    (i837) 
(LithoKraph  by  G.  Laviron.) 


I 


A  BIOGRAPHY  ^^ 


The  next  occasion  when  the  Gazette,  which  published  this  corre- 
spondence, printed  Paganini's  name,  was  to  announce  his  death, 

"Paganini  died  at  Nice,  May  27th,  1840,  leaving  a  great  name 
and  a  large  fortune  to  his  only  son,  a  young  and  handsome  boy  of 
fourteen  years.  His  body  has  been  embalmed  and  will  be  sent 
to  his  birthplace,  Genoa.  We  hope  that  the  report  of  his  death 
will  happily  prove,  like  so  many  before  this,  a  false  one."(i ) 

This  time  the  report  proved  true,  and  it  was  Liszt  who  under- 
took to  write  for  the  readers  of  the  Gazette  Mnsicale,  the  funeral 
oration  of  the  great  artist,  whose  disciple  he  was,  with  countless 
others. 

"May  the  artist  of  the  future  renounce  with  all  his  heart,"  con- 
cluded Liszt,  "the  vain  and  self-worshipful  manner  of  which  Paga- 
nini was,  we  believe,  a  last  and  shining  example;  let  him  see  his 
goal,  not  in  himself  but  far  beyond ;  let  the  mastery  of  his  art  be 
a  means — not  an  end ;  let  him  always  remember  that  not  only 
'noblesse,'  but  even  more  so : 

'Genie  Oblige,' 

V.  Liszi.'"(-) 

When  on  June  ist,  1840,  Paganini's  will,  dated  April  271)1,  1837, 
was  opened,  it  was  found  that  his  fortune  amounted  to  1,700,000 
francs,  partly  in  real  estate  and  partly  in  government  bonds  of 
I'Vance,  England  and  the  two  Sicilies.  Among  the  Ixiicficiaric.s 
were  his  older  sister,  who  received  an  income  of  75,000  francs; 
his  younger  sister  one  of  50,000  francs ;  a  lady  living  at  Lucca  re- 
ceived an  annuity  of  6.200  francs;  the  mother  of  his  son,  Antonia 
P>ianchi,  one  of  1,200  francs.  Achillc  Paganini  was  his  sole  heir. 
Marquis  Lorenzo  Parento,  his  tutor,  Giambattista  Giordani,  Laz- 
zaro  Rebizzo  and  Pietro  Torrigliani,  of  Genoa,  were  named  as  hi- 
executors.  A  little  later  the  Gacetfe  Mnsicale,  of  Paris,  came  out 
with  "one  of  the  fantastic  reports  for  which  Paganini  so  often 
furnished  the  pretext"  and  which  is  repeated  "merely  to  compli-tc 
the  round  of  absurdities.  It  is  said  that  Paganini  left  his  eight 
violins  to  eight  violinists  of  the  first  rank,  >aicl  to  be  Bcriot,  Ernst, 
Lipinski,   May  seder,  Moliquc,  Die  Bull,  .Spojir  an<l  Viciixtenips."(3) 

However,  Paganini's  history  did  not  cease  with  his  death,  and 


(1)  "Gazftte  MuKlc.ile,"  Jurif  "th.   MiiO.  p.  ?.:\i. 

(2)  "Oazftte  MuHlral*-,"  Auk.   2?,rf1,  p.   4?A-r.;'2:   About   pHRJinlnl   nn   lli«-  ocoi- 
slon  of  his  death. 

(3)  "Gazette  Mu.slcnle,"  ()c\(,\i(r  2.'.th.   is^fi,  p.  BOO. 


55  NICOLO   PAGANINI 


it  seemed  as  if  fate  had  decreed  that  everything  about  this  man 
should  be  strange  and  fantastic,  for  the  great  Genoese  artist  was 
doomed  to  post-mortem  tribulations  which  did  not  end  until  1896, 
more  than  half  a  century  after  his  death. 

This  posthumus  history  of  Paganini,  like  his  earthly  existence, 
caused  numerous  and  frequent  discussions  by  the  press;  the  earlier 
ones  are  dated  about  1854,  and  the  most  recent  in  1905. 

Paganini  having  died  at  Nice,  his  son  naturally  wished  to  have 
his  father's  body  taken  to  Genoa.  A  letter  dated  from  Nice,  June 
5th,  to  the  Moniteur,  stated  that  the  final  resting  place  for  Paga- 
nini's  remains  had  not  yet  been  decided  upon.(i)  The  trouble 
was  actually  begun  on  the  day  following  his  demise,  by  the  Bishop 
of  Nice,  and  a  contemporary  paper,  the  Journal  Historique  et 
Litteraire,  of  Liege,  speaks  of  it  as  follows: 

"Paganini  died  at  Nice  last  year;  he  was  noted  for  the  laxity 
of  his  morals  and  for  his  irreligion.  Not  only  had  he  ignored  his 
duties  to  the  Church,  but  he  had  refused  the  holy  sacraments  on 
his  death  bed.  These  facts  caused  the  Bishop  of  Nice  to  refuse 
him  a  resting  place  in  consecrated  ground.  Upon  the  protestations 
of  Paganini's  executors,  the  prelate  inaugurated  an  investigation, 
whereupon  the  refusal  of  a  consecrated  grave  was  confirmed  by 
sentence.  The  executors  persisted,  and  carried  the  matter  to  his 
Eminence  the  Cardinal-Archbishop  of  Genoa,  who  last  August, 
fully  corroborated  the  decision  of  the  Bishop  of  Nice.  Paginini's 
body,  after  having  rested  a  long  time,  embalmed  and  open  to  view, 
in  his  apartment,  was,  by  order  of  the  Government,  consigned  to 
the  cellar,  and  from  there  to  the  pest-house  at  Villefranche,  on 
account  of  the  fetid  odors  it  exhaled.  It  will  now  be  interred 
outside  of  the  cemetery,  and  Paganini's  name  will  be  crossed  from 
the  Church  register,  where  a  marginal  note  indicates  the  cause  of 
the  erasure." (^) 

The  facts  are,  that  Paganini,  "brutally  called  upon  to  make  a 
last  confession,  answered  that  he  did  not  think  himself  so  near 
death  as  yet  to  require  spiritual  aid,  but  that  when  the  time  came 
he  would  not  fail  in  this  supreme  duty." (2)  Christian  burial  having 
been  refused,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  Count  de  Cessole,  Count  de 
Maistre,  then  Governor  of  the  province,  and  of  Achille  Paganini, 


(1)  "Moniteur  Universel,"   June  16th,  1840,  p.   1436. 

(2)  "Journal  Historique  et  Litteraire,"  December  1st,  1841. 

(3)  "L'lllustration,"    March,    1854,   article   by   Frederic    Lacroix. 


A  BIOGRAPHY 


57 


the  body  was  embalmed  and  exhibited  on  a  platform  before  which 
the  curious  defiled ;  the  head  had  been  dressed  in  rather  a  grotesque 
fashion,  with  a  high  stock  over  which  was  an  enormous  tie;  he 
wore  a  kind  of  cotton  cap  trimmed  with  blue  ribbons,  ending  in 
a  huge  rosette,  as  is  shown  by  a  lithograph  of  the  times.  After 
a  few  days,  when  the  body  was  put  into  a  coffin,  a  glass  had  to  be 
inserted,  leaving  the  face  open  to  view,  to  satisfy  the  curiosity  of 
the  tourists  who  flocked  to  Nice.  The  public  continued  to  crowd 
for  a  glimpse  of  the  great  dead,  until  the  Church  gave  orders  to 
have  the  body  removed,  and  it  was  taken  to  the  pest-house  at  Ville- 
franche  a  la  pointe  de  Saint-Hospice  ;(i)  this  transfer  was  made  at 
night  under  military  escort.  At  this  time  a  Jewish  broker  offered 
Count  de  Cessole  about  30,000  francs  for  permission  to  take  the 
body  to  England  and  exhibit  it  there. 

Another  version  is  that  the  body  was  taken  by  boat  from  the 
hospital  at  Nice  to  that  of  Genoa,  but  as  the  vessel  was  refused  en- 
try at  the  port  of  Genoa,  on  account  of  the  epidemic  of  cholera 
which  had  just  broken  out  at  Marseilles,  it  went  to  anchor  at  the 
Lerins  Islands.  The  captain  of  this  ship  had  Paganini's  coffin 
landed  on  the  islet  of  Saint-Ferreol,  where  it  was  interred.  Six 
years  later,  another  vessel  landed  there  to  get  the  remains  of  Paga- 
nini  and  take  them  to  Italy.  It  is  said  that  an  open  grave  in  the 
centre  of  the  islet  Saint-Ferreol  still  marks  the  place  where  Paga- 
nini  was  buried,  as  it  had  never  been  filled  in.  The  amateur  fisher- 
men who  frequent  these  latitudes  say  that  the  excavation  in  the 
middle  of  the  island  is  universally  known,  for  short,  as  Paganini's 
ditch.  (2) 

This  legend  seems  rather  improbable,  although  it  emanates  from 
a  reliable  source.  If  we  go  by  the  account  of  L' Illustration,  pub- 
lished some  ten  or  twelve  years  after  the  events  themselves,  and 
confirmed  by  a  contemporary,  one  of  the  sailors  on  the  ship,(3) 
Paganini's  body  was  removed  from  the  pest-house  at  Villefranche 
during  the  night  of  August  15th,  1843,  and  not  in  1846,  to  W  trans- 
ported to  Genoa  in  a  sailing  barque. 

Nevertheless,  Achille  Paganini  continued  his  efforts  to  have  his 
father's  remains  buried  in  consecrated  ground.     In  October.  1841, 


(1)    some    have    confused    the    name    of    Salnt-HoHplrc    wltl.    tl.e    h.mi.ltal    at 


Nico. 


(2)  "Int.rmf-diaire  de»  Chercheurs,"  June  10th.  1905.  col.   R71. 

(3)  Id.,  April  30th,   1905.  col.   645-646. 


58  NICOLO  PAGANINI 


he  arrived  at  Rome  with  a  lawyer,  to  obtain  a  recall  from  the  Pope 

of  the  decision  handed  down  by  the  Archbishop  of  Genoa. (i)  The 
Pope  annulled  the  episcopal  decision,  and  ordered  an  inquiry  by 
the  Archbishop  of  Turin  and  two  clerical  Genoese,  as  to  the  Catholic 
sentiments  of  the  deceased.  The  result  of  this  inquiry  seems  never 
to  have  been  made  public.  Thereupon,  during  the  night  of  August 
15th,  1843 — in  May,  1844,  according  to  others, — a  man  bearing  a 
paper  signed  by  the  Gk>vernor  of  the  province,  and  accompanied  by 
two  boatmen  and  two  porters,  came  to  the  pest-house  at  Villef  ranche. 
The  coffin  was  removed  and  put  on  board  a  vessel  which  sailed 
to  Genoa,  making  stops  at  Bordighera,  San  Remo,  Port-Maurice, 
Savone,  etc.  The  body  was  taken  to  the  villa  Polevra,  one  of  Paga- 
nini's  possessions  near  Genoa,  where  the  Pope  authorized  a  pro- 
visory burial.  Again  it  was  exhumed  in  1853,  whereupon  the  re- 
mains were  transported  to  his  villa  Gaiona,  in  the  Duchy  of  Parma. 
Achille  Paganini  then  had  a  simple  religious  service  held  in  memory 
of  his  father,  who  was  a  knight  of  Saint-Georges,  in  the  church  of 
la  Steccata,  which  belonged  to  this  order  of  knighthood.  Finally, 
in  1876,  the  third  exhumation  took  place  from  the  villa  Gaiona, 
followed  by  re-interment  in  the  cemetery  at  Parma.  But  here  again 
Paganini  was  not  to  find  untroubled  rest,  for  in  1893  his  coffin  was 
opened  once  more  in  the  presence  of  his  son  and  the  Hungarian 
violinist,  Ondriczek;  and  three  years  later,  in  August,  1896,  a 
last  exhumation  was  necessary  owing  to  the  laying  out  of  a  new 
cemetery  at  Parma.  Was  this  indeed  the  last?  It  is  to  be  hoped, 
though  we  can  not  be  sure,  for  it  seems  as  though  a  pitiless  fate  de- 
nied earthly  rest,  though  well  deserved,  to  him  who  had  been  Paga- 
nini. 


(1)  "Gazette  Musicale,"  November  7th,  1841,  letter  from  Rome,  October  12th, 


A  BIOGRAPHY  ^g 


VI. 

AGANINI  wrote  about  fifty  compositions,  according  to  the 
catalogue  compiled  by  Conestabile.  about  ten  years  after 
the  death  of  the  great  artist.  However,  only  a  few  of 
these  are  extant. (i) 

All  violinists  know  the  importance  of  the  twenty-four  Caprices, 
some  of  which  were  transcribed  for  piano  by  Liszt  and  Schu- 
mann. (2)  No.  I  is  an  etude  in  arpeggios  (Locatelli's  Caprices  be- 
gin in  the  same  way.)  In  this  Paganini  modulates  frequently, 
as  in  almost  all  his  etudes.  Several  passages  ( for  instance,  measures 
14,  15,  16,  25,  26,  etc.,  p.  2,  edition  Peters)  show  that  Paganmi  was 
a  guitar  player,  as  the  groups  of  chords  which  he  uses  are  charac- 
teristic of  that  instrument. 

Guhr  says  that  Paganini  played  full,  clear  arpeggios,  using  less 
than  half  of  his  bow  for  their  execution. 

No.  2  is  characterized  by  groups  of  thirds,  sixths  and  tenths, 
and  wide  intervals,  necessitating  quick  changes  from  string  to  string. 

We  know  how  boldly  Paganini  modulated,  for  his  times.  In 
the  presto  of  No.  3  some  of  these  modulations  are  to  be  found, 
which  were  then  considered  to  be  very  audacious. 

Guhr  states  that  in  No.  7  Paganini  played  all  the  staccato  pas- 
sages in  letting  the  bow  dance  on  the  strings  with  a  rebound ;  he 
always  played  his  staccato  with  the  middle  of  the  bow,  rarely  be- 
ginning with  the  tip,  as  other  great  masters  did. 

In  No.  8  there  are  innumerable  difficulties  of  intonation. 

The  original  rhythm  of  the  presto  in  No.  1 1  nuist  be  mentioned, 
the  first  half  of  the  measure  2-4  often  consisting  of  .syncopa- 
tions and  the  other  half  of  triplets. 

This  presto  is  not  included  in  the  transcription  by  Schumann, 
who  considered  it  unsuitable  for  the  piano  and  perhaps  just  a  little 
vulgar. 

In  No.  15  the  melody,  in  octaves,  serves  as  a  theme  for  a  varia- 
tion in  broken  chords,  as  it  might  be  written  for  the  piano. 

(1)   Sco  list  of  pompoHltlonB. 

(J)  S.lmm.mn  i.iihIlHh<<l.  In  IS.'!.'!  .-m.l  1S.35.  In  two  voMimoH.  I  w.-iit  v-fnnr 
transcriptions  of  the  Caprices  by  PaRnnlnl;  nl«o  h\x  Ktufl.-«  rto  Concort.  nftor 
the  Caprlrea  by  Pn^anlnl.  Op  10.  "The  BravoiirBtn.llon  Nnoh  rnKanlnl> 
Caprlcen  flJr  das  Pianoforte  bearbeltet."  by  lAmt,  appeared  In  184>.  Bee 
Srhumnnn's  "Gesammeltn  Rchrlftf-n,-  edition  Rrklnm,  II.  p.  11  12.  and  III. 
p.  98-100.  The  French  violinist,  Plerro  Hode.  hnd  already  written  twenty-four 
Caprices  In  the  form  of  etudes. 


50  NICOLO  PAGANINI 


No.  24  contains  in  one  of  its  variations  an  example  of  a  re- 
markable manner  of  employing  the  pizzicato. 

"It  is  certainly  strange  that  the  characteristic  effect,  which  in 
part  made  Paganini's  great  success,  his  harmonics,  does  not  appear 
in  these  Caprices."(i) 

Paganini's  most  important  concert  pieces  are  beyond  doubt  his 
concertos.  There  were  eight  of  these;  besides  the  four  for  which 
he  wrote  the  orchestra  parts,  two  only  remain,  which  were  published 
by  Schonenberger,  at  Paris,  in  185 1,  one  in  E  flat  (D),(2)  and 
one  in  B  minor,  op.  6  and  7. 

His  variations  are  no  less  celebrated ;  the  same  publisher  brought 
out  the  variations  on  "Di  tanti  palpiti"  (Tancrede),  "Non  piu 
mesta"  (Cenerentola),  "God  save  the  King"  (or  "Heil  Dir  im 
Siegerkranz"),  the  "Carnaval  de  Venise"  ("Oh!  Mamma!")  as  well 
as  the  "Moto  perpetuo,"  which  comprises  3,040  sixteenth  notes 
without  a  pause. 

Before  the  time  when  Schonenberger  undertook  to  publish  Paga- 
nini's works,  his  Caprices,  op.  i ;  Sei  Sonate,  op.  2 ;  Sei  Sonate, 
op.  3;  Tre  gran  Ouartetti,  op.  4;  and  Tre  gran  Quartetti,  op.  5, 
were  the  only  ones  which  had  been  printed. 

"Paganini's  compositions  have  great  merit,"  says  Fetis, 
"novelty  of  ideas,  elegant  form,  rich  harmonies,  and  variety  of 
effects  in  instrumentation.  These  qualities  are  particularly  notice- 
able in  his  concertos.  These  concertos  influenced,  in  a  measure, 
what  was  written  later  in  this  line.  Their  form  differs  in  a  num- 
ber of  points  from  the  classic  form  of  Viotti's  concerto.  We 
find  the  merit  of  unity  and  a  growing  interest  which  deserves  con- 
sideration by  other  violin  composers. 

"In  general,  without  detracting  the  attention  from  the  solo  part 
by  too  much  complicated  work,  the  instrumentation  still  has  enough 
of  interest  to  combine  agreeably  with  the  principal  theme,  and  the 
attacks  are  not  forced  and  conventional ;  in  short,  the  effects  are  new 
and  varied." 

The  first  concerto,  in  E  flat,  of  which  the  violin  solo  is  written 
in  D,  is  more  like  the  old  concertos.  "I  think  I  remember,"  says 
Fetis,  "that  he  wrote  it  in   181 1."     It  contains  little  that  is  new; 


(1)  C.   Witting,   "Geschichte  des  Violinsplels,"   p.   43-49. 

(2)  Paganini  wrote  the  accompaniment  for  orchestra  in  E  flat,  and  the 
violin  part  in  D,  the  solo  instrument  being  tuned  half  a  tone  higher  than 
ordinarily. 


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A  BIOGRAPHY  ^^ 


the  details,  however,  stamp  this  work  as  one  of  the  highest  interest. 
Paganini  therein  employs  the  fourth  string  in  the  second  solo. 

The  Adagio  (C  minor)  is  a  dialogue  between  the  fourth  string 
and  the  three  others.  The  Rondo,  with  its  bounding  staccato,  is 
original.  It  is  noticeable  also  for  the  passages  in  tenths,  for  the 
first  time  used  in  various  combinations,  whereby  Paganini  obtained 
remarkable  effects,  through  the  marvelous  accuracy  of  his  execu- 
tion. 

The  second  concerto,  in  B  minor,  begins  with  a  broad,  passionate 
movement;  the  harmonies  are  often  interesting  in  their  sequence, 
the  instrumentation  is  bright  and  effective.  The  tutti  are  little  de- 
veloped, and  merely  serve  to  join  the  different  soli.  The  phrase 
at  the  beginning  of  the  first  solo  is  grand  and  broadly  treated. 

In  this  Paganini  shows  great  boldness  of  conception,  by  the  diffi- 
culties it  involves  in  bowing  and  also  for  the  left  hand.  There  is  a 
double  trill,  descending  in  thirds,  which  showed  the  artist's  in- 
comparable execution,  his  brilliancy  as  well  as  his  absolutely  fault- 
less intonation.  The  theme  of  the  second  solo  is  entirely  different 
from  the  first;  the  melody  is  expressive  and  mingled  with  staccato 
effects  to  which  Paganini  gave  an  individual  character.  The  pas- 
sage following  this  theme  is  entirely  in  double  chords  and  very 
effective ;  these  combinations  were  of  the  greatest  difficulty,  but  the 
wonderful  artist  rendered  them  as  so  much  child's  play.(^) 

The  Adagio  (in  D)  is  a  cantabile  of  the  highest  order.  Being 
more  simple  than  his  other  compositions,  it  was  not  very  effective, 
because  in  Paganini  one  always  looked  for  tlie  sensational ;  neverthe- 
less the  form  of  the  themes  is  noble,  expressive  and  full  of  charm. 
The  instrumentation  is  in  very  good  taste.  The  Rondo,  with  obli- 
gato  accompaniment  of  bells,  is  a  delightful  phantasy  which  com- 
prises the  most  incredible  flifficulties  in  comhiiiatioiis  of  the  most 
exquisite  taste.  The  principal  motive  is  remarkably  elegant.  Every- 
thing about  this  composition  is  new,  as  well  in  detail  as  in  the  general 
outline. 

The  Allegro  of  the  .sonata  for  violin  and  orche.stra,  entitled  Moto 

(1)  "In  all  his  early  compoHltlons,"  says  Fotla.  "the  paxsagea  In  double 
chords  anfl  with  a  boundlnK  how  are  new  Jinfl  not  In  thi-  iimiihI  form  of  con- 
rertos.  ragiinini'H  px<-<'iition  wjih  ri-miirkiihh'  In  two  pulnlH;  (Irnt,  lh«-  abBoliitc 
trurnc-^s  of  tone  in  th<-  donhlf  rlinrds,  thf  .«t\imhllnK  blork  of  tho  monl  nklllfnl 
violinists,  especially  In  the  rapid  passages,  and  wcond.  the  marvcIlouH  nrcurncy 
with  which  his  bow  hit.f  the  strings,  no  matter  how  grrnt  tho  IntorvalH.  Thin 
evidence  of  his  talent  alone  would  tend  to  show  hlR  prrdcstlnatlon  for  his 
career,  iind  a  lif<--time  of  .'-•ludy." 


62  NICOLO   PAGANINI 


Perpetuo,  is  only  noticeable  as  a  study  for  bowing,  having  a  very 
rapid  movement  without  pause  to  the  last  measure.  This  kind  of 
difficulty  requires  a  wonderfully  strong  and  flexible  wrist,  that  will 
not  tire  before  the  end,  and  perfect  unison  of  the  left  hand  and  the 
bow.  This  work  as  a  composition  is  of  no  importance,  but  as  an 
etude  it  is  interesting. 

The  introduction  to  the  "Streghe"  is  brief;  the  first  variation, 
all  in  double  and  triple  chords,  is  very  difficult;  it  is  an  excellent 
study  for  correct  intonation.  The  second  is  a  mixture  of  harmonics 
and  pizzicati,  resulting  in  original  effects.  The  third  is  a  dialogue 
between  the  fourth  string  and  double  harmonic  sounds,  "a  novelty 
which  always  met  with  applause  from  the  public."  The  finale  which 
follows  this  variation  ends  with  rapid  passages  on  the  fourth  string, 
and  harmonics  of  the  utmost  difficulty. 

The  "God  Save  the  King"  includes  all  the  new  effects  discovered 
by  Paganini.  The  theme  is  written  in  three  and  four  parts ;  the 
bow  sounds  the  melody  and  the  accompanying  parts  are  picked. 
The  first  variation,  all  in  double  chords,  is  a  sequence  of  thirds 
and  tenths.  Paganini  played  it  very  quickly  and  lightly,  which 
added  to  the  difficulties.  The  second  variation  is  in  rapid  triplets 
mingled  with  passages  in  double  chords  and  a  bounding  staccato. 
In  the  third  the  canto  is  sustained  by  a  very  slow  movement  while 
the  accompaniment  indulges  in  a  veritable  fireworks  of  brilliancy 
on  the  third  and  fourth  strings.  The  fourth  consists  of  rapid 
runs  of  picked  notes  in  the  upper  register,  while  the  accompaniment 
is  played  staccato  on  the  lower  strings,  with  the  bow.  The  fifth 
variation,  written  in  double  chords,  has  an  echo  effect,  an  octave 
higher ;  the  bass  is  picked  on  the  low  strings.  Finally,  the  sixth  and 
last  is  all  in  bounding  staccato  arpeggios,  which  are  extremely  diffi- 
cult to  play  on  account  of  the  complicated  positions  of  the  left  hand. 

The  variations  on  "Di  tanti  palpiti"  are  written  in  B  flat;  the  solo 
part  is  written  in  A,  the  violin  being  tuned  to  B.  In  the  second 
variation  the  fourth  string  is  lowered  to  low  B  flat.  Paganini 
made  this  change  of  tuning  with  such  skill  and  nicety  that  none 
noticed  it  in  his  concerts.^^>  The  introduction  to  this  composition 
is  a  larghetto  followed  by  a  recitatif.  The  theme  is  played  simply, 
without  any  combination  of  effects.  In  the  second  variation  the 
passages  in  double  chords  present  great  difficulties  in  bowing;  the 


(1)  We  have  already  reported  the  different  opinion  held  by  Guhr. 


A  BIOGRAPHY  ^3 


third  is  the  strangest  and  the  most  difficult  with  its  sequences  of 
thirds  in  harmonics,  which  bring  out  the  theme  in  runs  and  ar- 
peggios. 

In  the  variation  on  "la  Cenerentola"  (Non  piu  mesta),  in  E  flat, 
the  solo  violin  is  tuned  as  before,  and  is  played  in  D,  the  same  as 
in  the  first  concerto.  The  second  variation  recalls  efltects  already 
used  in  the  other  works  of  the  master.  The  third,  in  minor,  is 
almost  entirely  written  in  octaves.  The  fourth  is  an  echo,  the  echo 
effect  being  produced  by  double  harmonics.  It  is  followed  by  a 
finale  in  thirds  and  octaves,  which  is  very  difficult  to  perform. 

The  twenty  variations  on  the  "Carnival  of  Venice,"  on  the 
popular  song  "Oh!  Mamma!"  are  partly  not  in  the  very  best  taste. 
Those  on  the  "Air  de  Barucaba"  each  represent  a  special  etude  for 
the  various  kinds  of  bowing.    They  are  nearly  all  in  different  keys. 

This  is  a  brief  resume  by  Fetis,(^)  written  about  half  a  century 
ago.  when  the  celebrated  musical  writer  presented  the  French  public 
with  an  edition  of  Paganini's  works.  To-day,  no  doubt,  since  violin 
technique  has  made  more  progress,  thanks  chiefly  to  the  great 
Genoese  artist,  the  wonderment  of  our  fathers  at  these  composi- 
tions would  seem  uncalled  for.  Besides,  musical  taste  has  become 
more  serious,  and  we  see  nothing  but  show  pieces  in  compositions 
which,  in  their  time,  excited  much  admiration  and  enthusiasm. 
Nevertheless  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  I'aganini.  whose  works 
are  far  more  numerous  than  those  that  are,  so  far,  known  to  us 
under  his  name,  was  not  only  a  great  virtuoso,  but  also  a  composer 
whose  style,  if  not  superior  to  that  of  his  Italian  contemporaries, 
was  certainly  not  inferior,  especially  in  regard  to  orchestration. 

Paganini  did  not  actually  found  a  school;  wc  know  of  only  one 
pupil  who  studied  under  him,  Camillo  Sivori,  a  Genoese  like  him- 
.self,  who  followed  his  methods  nearly  to  the  present  day. 


n)    F^tls,  PfiRnnlni   (Ptirl?,  S<'h<>n<nl>.iu:or,  IS.'.D. 


54  NICOLO   PAGANINI 


COMPOSITIONS  OF  PAGANINI. 

Conestabile  was  the  first  to  compile  a  list  of  Paganini's  works, 

as  follows: 

1.  Four  concertos  for  violin,  with  accompaniment. 

2.  Four  concertos  for  which  the  orchestral  parts  were  never 

written ;  the  last  was  composed  by  Paganini  shortly  before 
his  death. 

3.  V^ariations  on  a  comic  theme,  carried  on  by  the  orchestra. 

4.  Sonata  for  viola  and  orchestra. 

5.  "God  Save  the  King,"  with  variations,  for  violin  and  or- 

chestra. 

6.  "Le  Streghe,"  variations  for  violin,  with  orchestra. 

7.  Variations  on  "Non  piu  mesta,"  from  "la  Cenerentola." 

8.  "Grande  Sonate  Sentimentale." 

9.  Sonata  with  variations. 

10.  "La  Primavera,"  Sonate  without  accompaniment. 

11.  Warsaw — Sonata. 

12.  "La  ci  darem  la  mano," — variations  on  an  air  by  Mozart 

("Don  Juan"). 

13.  The  Carneval  of  Venice. 

14.  Variations  on  "Di  tanti  palpiti"   (Rossini). 

15.  Marie-Louise,  Sonata. 

16.  Romance  (Song). 

17.  Cantabile,  for  violin  and  piano. 

18.  Polonaise,  with  variations. 

19.  Vocal  Phantasy. 

20.  Sonata  for  violin  solo. 

21.  Six  quartets  for  violin,  viola,  'cello  and  guitar  (op.  4  and  5, 

entitled  "Gran  quartetti  a  violino,  viola,  chitara  and  violon- 
cello"). 

22.  Cantabile  and  Waltz. 

23.  Three  duets  for  violin  and  'cello. 

24.  Other  duets  and  little  pieces  for  violin  and  guitar. 


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A  BIOGRAPHY  55 


The  following  works  only  are  complete  and  have  been  published : 

The  twenty-four  ''Caprices"  (op.  i),  not  mentioned  in  the  fore- 
going list;  two  Concertos,  in  E  flat  (D  major)  and  in  B  minor  (op. 
6  and  7)  ; — in  the  latter  is  the  famous  "Clochette,"  or  Campanella; 
twelve  sonatas,  for  violin  and  guitar  (op.  2  and  3)  ;  six  Quar- 
tets (op.  4  and  5)  ;  an  Allegro  de  Sonate,  with  orchestra,  called 
"Movimento  Perpetuo"  (op.  11);  "Le  Streghe."  with  orchestra 
(op.  8)  ;  "God  Save  the  King,"  with  variations,  for  orchestra 
(op.  9);  "Di  tanti  palpiti,"  with  orchestra  (op.  13);  "Non  piu 
mesta,"  with  orchestra  (op.  12)  ;  "The  Carneval  of  Venice," 
twenty  variations  on  a  Venetian  popular  song:  "Oh!  Mamma!" 
(op.  10). 

Sixty  variations  in  every  key,  in  three  suites,  with  piano  or 
guitar  accompaniment,  on  the  air  "Barucaba."  This  is  one  of 
Paganini's  latest  compositions,  which  was  written  at  Genoa  in  1835, 
and  was  dedicated  to  the  attorney,  L.  G.  Germi. 


66 


NICOLO   PAGANINI 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Anders. — "Paganini"  (Paris,  1831). 

Anonymous. — "Biographic  von  Nicolo  Paganini"  (Zurich,  1846). 

Anonymous. — "Paganini,  Variations  poetiques"  (Lyon,  1831). 

O.  Bruni. — "Niccolo  Paganini  cclebre  violinista  genovese"  (Firenzc, 

1873)- 
G.  Conestabile. — "Vita  di  Niccolo  Paganini"  (Perugia,  1851). 

Escudier. — "Mes  Souvenirs.  Les  Virtuoses"  (Paris,  1868). 
Vie  et  aventures  des  Cantatrices  celebres,  suivies  de  la 
vie  anecdotique  de  Paganini  (Paris,  1856). 

Fayollc— "Paganini  et  Beriot"  (Paris,  1831). 

Fetis. — "Notice  Biographique  sur  Nicolo  Paganini"  (Paris,  1851). 

G.  G.  Paganini. — (Roma,  1840). 

Gervasoni. — "Nouva  teoria  di  musica"  (Milan,  1812). 

Guhr. — "L'Art  de  jouer  du  violin  de  Paganini"  (Paris,  Schott,  1831). 
"Paganini  a  Francfort  en  1839." — article  copied  in  the 
Mittheilungen,  von  C.  F.  Schmidt  (Heilbronn,  January, 
1901). 

George  Harrys. — "Paganini  in  seinem  Reisewagen  und  Zimmer"; 
in  seinen  redseligen  vStuden,  in  gesellschaftlichen  Zirkeln 
und  seinen  Conzerten.  Aus  dem  Reisejournal  (Braun- 
schweig, 1830). 

Adolph  Kohut. — "Aus  dem  Zauberlande  Polyhymnia's,  Neues  iiber 

Paganini"  (Berlin,  1812). 
Imbert  de  Laphaleque. — "Notice  sur  Nicolo  Paganini"  (Paris,  1830). 
Gustav  Nicolai. — "Arabesken  fur  Musikfreunde"  (Leipzig,  1835). 
A.   Niggli.— "Nicolo  Paganini,"  Musikal  Vortrage,  of  Waldersee, 

Nos.  44-45  (Leipzig,  1892). 
Alfredo   MandeUi.— "Carlo   Bignamie   Nicolo   Paganini"    (Milano, 

1893)- 
E.    Ortlepp. — "Grosses    Instrumental    und    Vocalconcert."      Eine 

musikalische  Anthologie  (Stuttgart,  1841). 

Elisa  Polko.— "Paganini  und  die  Geigenbauer"  (Leipzig,  1875). 


A  BIOGRAPHY 


67 


Maximilian  Julius  Schottky. — "Paganini's  Leben  und  Treiben  als 
Kiinstler  und  Mensch"  (Prag,  J.  G.  Calve,  1830). 

F.  C.  J.  Schutz. — "Leben,  Character  und  Kunst  des  Ritters  Nicolo 
Paganini"  (Leipzig,  1830). 

C.    Witting. — "Geschichte   des   Violinspiels"    (vom   Ende's   Verlag, 
Leipzig  vers  igoo). 

J.  W.  Wasielewski. — "Die  Violine  und  ihre  Meister"  (3rd  edition, 
1893)- 

Paganini  was  represented  on  the  stage  in  Paris  at  least  twice ;  in 
"an  up-to-date  occurrence  in  one  act,  with  songs  and  music,"  by  De- 
vergers  and  Varin,  entitled  "Paganini  en  Allemangne,"  at  the  Nou- 
veautes,  April  loth,  1831  ;  and  in  "Rossini's  Room,"  an  Italian 
-ketch,  by  Merle  and  Simonnin,  at  the  Varietes,  February,  1834.  In 
the  latter  play  the  actor  Lherie  took  the  part  of  the  great  virtuoso. 


pa(;anini  im.ayino  on  ins  stkaijivakius  viorjN 

From  a  water-color  by  Peteilet  entitUd  'The  Violin  of  Creinonn. 
(From  the  collection  of  A.  Morel  d'Arhux  ) 


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